Leicester City midfielder Youri Tielemans is ‘increasingly threatened’ by Everton midfielder Amadou Onana, who is looking likely to replace him in Belgium’s starting 11.
That’s according to Sud Presse, who cover Belgium today and how they may change things up ahead of Sunday’s clash with Morocco.
Roberto Martinez’s side started their World Cup campaign with a 1-0 win over Canada this week but were extremely fortunate to do so after being second best for much of the game.
Leicester’s Tielemans started the game in the heart of midfield but was criticised for his performance, which left much to be desired before he was substituted at half time for Onana.
The Everton man helped to change the game in Belgium’s favour somewhat and was roundly praised for his display following the game.
They say Tielemans time with Belgium is ‘made up of constant ups and downs’, with the Leicester man showing a ‘lack of regularity’ and raising ‘legitimate questions’ about whether he should be in the starting 11.
At 25 he is now expected to ‘put his stamp on the game’ and can no longer be forgiven for mistakes or bad decisions as he has been in the past.
In truth he is yet to take on the ‘expected dimension’ and that’s a problem as there is now competition and Martinez is ‘far from stupid’.
He has seen Onana’s ‘impressive’ performances for Everton and his country and how he helped Belgium in the second half against Canada.
His ‘physical impact’ and ‘volume of play’ did Belgium a lot of good, helping them to find gaps, get forward and win duels.
These are characteristics that Tielemans doesn’t have in his game, and when Belgium need to fight, he is not the ideal partner for Witsel.
The feeling is that Onana is that man who is ‘better suited to the dirty job’ than Tielemans, something which was seen against Canada and could see the Everton man replace him for the remainder of their time in Qatar.
