Eight to watch in Belgium U19 squad

Belgium’s U19 squad plays Spain on Wednesday in their first match of the European championships. They are in a tough group, with Turkey and Serbia as well as Wednesday’s opponents. Belgian media reports have mainly highlighted two players: Marnick Vermijl, because he plays at Old Trafford, and Eden Hazard’s younger brother Thorgan – because he’s a Hazard. To be fair, they are both worth watching; Vermijl – snapped up from Standard Liege – says he has learnt a lot since joining the Manchester club. A full back, he’s of Albanian extraction. The younger Hazard plays in midfield and is on the fringes of the Lens first team; hopefully his name will not weigh too heavily on his game.
A player to follow closely is Stoke’s Florent Cuvelier, once of Portsmouth and born in Brussels. Cuvelier has captained the side from midfield and he has a growing fan club at Stoke. This could be the year he breaks into the first team.
Standard Liege has the most players in the squad, with four – three of whom are defenders. The usual captain is Standard’s central defender Dino Arslanagic, who recently joined the club from Lille. Originally from the Mouscron school of excellence, Arslanagic has recently finished his Baccalaureat. Standard have also signed Paul-Jose Mpoku from Spurs, the club he joined (from Standard) in 2008. The winger did not break through in London but the boy has potential and scores goals.
Club Brugge’s Maxine Lestienne – also from the Mouscron school – has had a few first team appearances- and also has an eye for goal.
Finally, two keepers are worthy of note. Koen Casteels recently left Genk for Hoffenheim; somewhat surprisingly given Thibaut Courtois’ move to Chelsea. The other is Beerschot’s Thomas Kaminski, a player often linked with a move to Anderlecht.
Belgium’s squad looks useful and they’ve had some good results. It does, however, look a bit short on firepower; a pity it’s too late to place a call through to Anderlecht’s training camp in Portugal and ask for a certain Romelu Lukaku.
And to wrap this up, it’s interesting to note that Belgium’s richest club has no players in the squad. A sign, perhaps of the times.