Belgium have to hand Everton midfielder Amadou Onana a starting role for the rest of the World Cup after his impressive performance from the bench in the win over Canada.
Belgium ran out 1-0 winners over Canada in their opening game in Group F yesterday, with Michy Batshuayi’s 44th minute goal proving to be the difference.
It was a tough evening for Roberto Martinez’s side, who were outplayed for most of the game and fortunate not to be 3-0 down in the first half.
Much of that was to do with their ineffective midfield as Axel Witsel, Youri Tielemans and to some extent Kevin De Bruyne struggled to control play in the middle of the park.
That changed somewhat in the second half when Everton’s Onana was brought on in place of Tielemans, with the Blues youngster adding steel to the Belgian midfield.
He earned rave reviews for his performance following the game, with the press in Belgium more than impressed by what they saw.
Former Club Brugge striker Gert Verheyen was one of those and has called for the midfielder to be a starter from here on out.
“I don’t think you can put Amadou Onana on the bench any longer. I would have brought him in at kick-off as well,” he told Sporza.
“If you have to rely on energy and duelling power, you have to put him. He might be a bit more impure than Youri Tielemans, but he brings a lot in his place.
“You mainly have to look at how much energy you put out as a team. With Onana, that’s better. And that’s what our team needs. The Canadians were uninhibited with guts and daring. With us, it seemed like we had to think with every pass.”
