The arrival of Domenico Tedesco as the new Belgium manager has brought in a few changes, including the call-up of some often ignored names, like Nottingham Forest’s Orel Mangala.
The 25-year-old had only been called up once before, for some friendlies back in 2022, but he was given a chance once more to impress for his country, where he was played alongside Everton’s Amadou Onana against Germany.
The pair were at the heart of everything the Belgium national team did in the 3-2 win over Hansi Flick’s side, and the Nottingham Forest player didn’t waste time to praise his teammate, relayed by RTBF.
Speaking of the Everton star, he said: “It’s a good duo, we get along very well. We have a great complementarity, we know each other very well from the English league.”
Bought fro €13m in the summer by Nottingham Forest, Mangala took some time to find a spot in Steve Cooper’s squad this season, but enjoyed a good spell of games between December and February.
He has been in and out of the starting line-up since, but there’s no denying this international break will have been a confidence boost for him.
As for Onana, he has been an immovable object since being signed by Everton for €35m, convincing both Frank Lampard and Sean Dyche that he has everything needed to be a success in the Premier League.
