Former Netherlands midfielder Willem van Hanegem has questioned why Belgium manager Marc Wilmots didn’t play Tottenham Hotspur star Moussa Dembele more often during the Euros. The Belgians were last week knocked out by Wales with Dembele watching on from the sidelines.
Writing in his column for Voetbal International, van Hanegem said too many teams have been negative in midfield during the Euros, which includes Belgium.
The Dutch legend thinks Wilmots played too many similar midfield players in their 3-1 defeat to Wales onFriday night, and that creative talents such as Dembele weren’t given a chance in the game.
“Their coach prefers the same types in his team, Witsel, Nainggolan and Fellaini. One game went well against Ireland, when Dembele was playing,” said van Hanegem on Belgium.
Belgium started this summer’s Euros as one of the favourites as they went into the competition as the 2nd best ranked team in world football.
However, despite their impressive victory over the Republic of Ireland they never reached the heights expected of their talented squad, and crashed out at the quarterfinal stage.
