On Sunday 19 November, Belgium will play Azerbaijan again, this time at the King Baudouin Stadium. If the Red Devils can win this match, they will become group winners and likely series leaders in the preliminary round of the European Championship. Perhaps the Devils will take some inspiration from their sporting friends in the basket, who crushed the Azeris on Sunday 12 November with a monster score of 28-136.
Practice match against Serbia
On Wednesday 15 November, the Red Devils first played a practice match against Serbia. A match that had to move from Brussels to the OH Leuven stadium due to heavy rain. A match with no fans, no intensity, but still with a Belgian win. The Red Devils won with the smallest difference from Serbia after a goal in the opening minute by Carrasco.
Belgium-Azerbaijan
Last time these teams faced off, on 9 September, Belgium narrowly won 0-1. At the Dalga Arena in the capital Baku, it was Johan Bakayoko who shot on goal, but it was Yannick Carrasco who made sure the ball actually rolled against the nets. Of the previous three matches, Belgium won two and drew once.
European Championship qualifiers
Belgium are already sure of a place at the EC in Germany, with 17 points after seven matches. Only Austria can still keep them from winning the group, as they are in second place with 16 points. They will get another chance to make a grab for group win on Thursday 16 November against Estonia. That is why this match is important: If Belgium win, they will become group winner in Group F.
For the other teams in, there is no more hope for an EC ticket. After Belgium and Austria, in third place, is Sweden. They have seven points after six games, so do have one more game to play than the leaders. So the Swedes could still rack up some points against Azerbaijan and Estonia, but they can’t rise any more. It is also impossible for those other two teams to go higher: Azerbaijan is in 4th place with four points, and Estonia in 5th place with barely one point.
Selection
Domenico Tedesco conspicuously chose 26 names instead of 24. Due to the uncertainty within the squad mainly due to injuries, the national coach wanted to have an extra asset behind him. Tedesco also did not choose De Ketelaere and Thorgan Hazard. De Ketelaere is injured, and Hazard did not stand up to competition in his position, according to the coach.
In goal, we will see Koen Casteels as first goalkeeper. He will be assisted by Arnaud Bodart, Matz Sels and Thomas Kaminski. Casteels made his return to the Bundesliga on 10 November, but did go wrong twice. His side, Wolfsburg, lost 4-0 to Borussia Mönchengladbach. He is now the first goalkeeper as Thibaut Courtois is still rehabilitating from a cruciate ligament injury, and Simon Mignolet recently announced his retirement. It is also uncertain whether Courtois will return.
Among the defenders, we count Jan Vertonghen, Ameen Al-Dakhil, Zeno Debast, Wout Faes, Arthur Théate, Timothy Castagne, Zinho Vanheusden and Alexis Saelemaekers. Vertonghen would not yet be available for the practice match against Serbia on Wednesday 15 November, but would be available for the match against Azerbaijan. Tedesco chose a wide back-up, with Debast, Vanheusden and Saelemaekers able to strengthen the defence.
In midfield, we can count on Youri Tielemans, Amadou Onana, Orel Mangala, Olivier Deman, Arthur Vermeeren and Aster Vrancx. Like Vertonghen, Onana is still a minor doubt, still suffering from a slight calf injury. Youri Tielemans, on the other hand, showed last weekend why he deserves a starting place at Aston Vila. Arthur Vermeeren, gold medallist at Antwerp and already captain in the game against Porto, was also picked by Tedesco.
The strikers are Romelu Lukaku, Loïs Openda, Michy Batshuayi, Johan Bakayoko, Dodi Lukebakio, Leandro Trossard, Yannick Carrasco and Jeremy Doku. Lukaku is playing well at AS Roma, but still gets a lot of heat from the Italian press. Openda is already the darling at Leipzig, scoring lustily. At Arsenal, Leandro Trossard is doing a great job. Young Jérémy Doku amazes everyone in Manchester City’s matches. So Domenico Tedesco has plenty of choices to line up.
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