Ukraine – Belgium: Welcome Rudi!

Here we are! It’s time for another international break and this time, it coincides with the start of a new era for our Devils. This double clash against Ukraine will mark the beginnings of our new head coach, Rudi Garcia, on the bench. How will our Belgians play on the field?

Brave choices

Rudi Garcia didn’t wait long before disrupting the team chosen by Domenico Tedesco. For his first selection, our French coach dove into the Thibaut Courtois case head first and it has to be said: the world’s best goalie is back in selection! Real Madrid’s goalkeeper talked things over with the group, who also agreed to get him back into the team. Only Koen Casteels, who replaced “El Muro” under Tedesco, objected this comeback and decided to take his international retirement.

And this wasn’t the only surprise coach Rudi had in store for us. Thomas Meunier is also back in selection, as Garcia was well aware of the fullbacks’ weak defense. Beside this comeback, four players received their first call up. Nicolas Raskin, Bryan Heynen, Senne Lammens and the young Jorthy Mokio will all have the opportunity to prove our new head coach that he made the right choice.

His very own philosophy

If we were to choose one thing that truly defines our new head coach, it would be that he is a sharp strategist. Thanks to his tactical mind, Rudi Garcia managed to achieve true feats over his coaching career. Especially with Marseille, which he carried to the Europa League’s finals or Lyon, who defeated Juventus and Guardiola’s Manchester City in 2020 to reach the Champions League’s semifinals!

Garcia enjoys beautiful, bold and attacking football. While he has a history of dropping his clubs when their performances in championships were not up to his standard, he has a way of enhancing his teams during cups, which he will focus on with our Devils.

This Thursday, all of Belgium’s eyes will be on our national team, Garcia version, who have no other choice but to defeat Ukraine to keep their spot in the Nations League’s League A.

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