The Belgian ‘A’ squad has been making all the headlines this week following the 2-1 victory in Austria. The result has been seen as a breakthrough, as many people believe that Belgium has a “golden generation” that could compete for honours in the 2014 and 2018 world cups. Remarkably, it could be that of the current squad, only Daniel Van Buyten and Timmy Simons will have retired by the time the World Cup is held in Russia. By that time, there could be intense competition for places. As the Belgium Under 21s and Under 19s have both had run-outs this week, it’s a good opportunity to see which youngsters are thinking about brushing up their Russian in the coming years.
Under 21s
The Belgian “hopefuls”, as they are known, played last Thursday and defeated Scotland 1-0 in a friendly. The best-known players are Genk’s Kevin De Bruyne and Ghent’s Yassine El Ghanassy. Both have already played for the senior squad, both have been linked with Premier League clubs and both were prominent in the win over Scotland. De Bruyne twice hit the woodwork and El Ghanassy got the winner; a classy strike by all accounts. Both players would have thought that they’d be in the senior squad this week, but competition is tough already. De Bruyne told reporters that he was not too disappointed as he’s not back to his best form following a long illness.
Other players in the team that faced Scotland were Manchester City’s Dedryk Boyota, signed from FC Brussels when he was 16, KV Mechelen’s Christian Benteke, a full international who has already played 60-odd games in the Jupiler League and Luis Pedro Cavanda, a full back currently on loan from Lazio at Torino. Cavanda was born in Angola but has Belgian nationality. He was with Standard Liege as a junior but left following an argument. He’s not short on confidence and his dream is to play for Barcelona. The next outing for the ‘hopefuls; is on Monday night vs. Greece at Beringen, close to Genk.
Under 19s
The Under 19s had a great win in Friday’s friendly match in Germany, taking the match 2-1, coming back from being a goal down. There were several players who started Friday’s game who are worth following. Two of the midfield spots went to Stoke City’s Florent Cuvelier and Leyton Orient’s Paul-José Mpoku. Cuvelier is 18 and started his career with the now defunct Mouscron. His father moved him to the almost defunct Portsmouth before Tony Pullis came in to take him to the Victoria Ground. A player with a big reputation and a big heart, he could be the long-term replacement for Timmy Simons in a defensive midfield role. Mpoku is another player who started with Standard Liege before switching to Spurs at an early age. He’s now on loan at Leyton Orient and although he’s a clever attacker, he has not yet nailed down a place in the O’s line-up.
Also in the team that defeated Germany were Club Brugge’s Chris Coosemans, the butt of many blog postings by Stijn Stijnen’s friends and loved ones, his club-mate Maxime Lestienne, signed from Mouscron and who has also felt the weight of Stijnen’s friends’ wit, and one Thorgen Hazard – brother of the more famous Eden.
The younger Hazard is on the brink of the Lens first team squad and there have already been reports in the Belgian press that by 2018, Belgium’s attacking three could be made up of the Hazard brothers on the flanks and Romelu Lukaku in the centre. That seems unlikely to happen if Georges Leekens is still in charge. Also in the squad, but not making it on the pitch in Germany was Manchester United’s defender Marnick Vermijl, another Standard Liege protégé who decided that the Premiership grass was a lot greener than that in Wallonia. The Under 19’s are playing another friendly tonight in the province of Luxembourg, at Bertring, vs. Uruguay.
Bubbling Under
The Under 18’s squad includes Pa Modou Jobe, with Blackpool, Alpaslan Azturk, in the Birmingham squad, Jordan Lukaku, who trains alongside his brother at Anderlecht, and defender Jonathan Vervoort from the same club. The Under 17 squad features Anderlecht’s Tika Musonda, whose father Charly, a Zambian international, played at Parc Astrid for 10 years from 1987 to 1997. Going down even further, Charly Musonda Junior is in the Belgium Under 15 squad. Not in any squad so far is Ethan Hazard (15), who is apparently all set to join his eldest brother at Lille. By 2018, it could be very hard indeed to get seats on the flight to Moscow.