Belguim manager Roberto Martinez named preliminary 28-man squad for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. Selection caused several shocks for football community and the biggest was the decision to exclude Radja Nainggolan in favor of likes Nacer Chadli and Christian Benteke.
Apparently, Martinez flew to Rome on Sunday to inform Naiggolan personally. Anyways, 30-years-old midfielder barely appreciated the chat and stated today that he’s leaving Belgium squad permanently. Oh dear. Anyways, he couldn’t find himself in Martinez preferred 3-4-3 system.
So here’s preliminary Belgium squad list:
Goalkeepers: Thibaut Courtois (Chelsea), Simon Mignolet (Liverpool), Koen Casteels (Wolfsburg), Matz Sels (Newcastle United).
Defenders:Toby Alderweireld (Tottenham Hotspur), Dedryck Boyata (Celtic), Laurent Ciman (LAFC), Leander Dendoncker (Anderlecht), Christian Kabasele (Watford), Vincent Kompany (Manchester City), Jordan Lukaku (Lazio), Thomas Meunier (Paris Saint-Germain), Thomas Vermaelen (Barcelona), Jan Vertonghen (Tottenham Hotspur).
Midfielders:Yannick Carrasco (Dalian Yifang), Nacer Chadli (West Bromwich Albion), Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City), Mousa Dembele (Tottenham Hotspur), Marouane Fellaini (Manchester United), Adnan Januzaj (Real Sociedad), Youri Tielemans (Monaco), Axel Witsel (Tianjin Quanjian).
Forwards:Michy Batshuayi (Chelsea), Christian Benteke (Crystal Palace), Eden Hazard (Chelsea), Thorgan Hazard (Borussia Monchengladbach), Romelu Lukaku (Manchester United), Dries Mertens (Napoli).
- Belgium will face Panama (June 18), Tunisia (July 23) and England (June 28)