Belgium has named a strong squad for the upcoming 2018 World Cup in Russia as Chelsea forward, Michy Batshuayi, Thorgan Hazard and Adnan Januzaj were dropped from the squad.
The final squad was confirmed on earlier today, and the team is made up of stars like Eden Hazard, Kevin De Bruyne and Dries Mertens, tipped to succeed on the international scene.
Manchester City Captain Vincent Kompany has been included but his participation in the tournament is still in doubt, with Martinez confirming he will wait until the last possible moment before deciding whether or not to replace the 32-year-old with Laurent Ciman, who is on standby. Martinez told a news conference;
“The situation is very clear: we’re going to try to use the rules,”
“We need to make the final squad 24 hours before Panama [on June 18] so, until then, we’re going to try to give the maximum time to see what the reaction is with Vinny.
“We’ve spoken very closely with Manchester City and the experience over the last few years is that Vinny’s reaction to certain soft-tissue injuries cannot be described by a scan. You need to wait seven, eight days.
“The approach is very easy. He’s a leader, he’s been working extremely hard in camp, he performed in a fantastic manner while on the pitch against Portugal. It’s essential for us to give him every opportunity. It’s a World Cup, it’s not just any competition.”
Belgium is in a relatively straightforward group, featuring Panama, Tunisia and England.
Read full squad below:
Goalkeepers: Thibaut Courtois, Simon Mignolet, Koen Casteels.
Defenders: Jan Vertonghen, Toby Alderweireld, Vincent Kompany, Thomas Meunier, Thomas Vermaelen, Dedryk Boyata.
Midfielders: Kevin De Bruyne, Marouane Fellaini, Axel Witsel, Mousa Dembele, Leander Dendoncker, Youri Tielemans, Nacer Chadli.
Attacker: Eden Hazard, Dries Mertens, Romelu Lukaku, Witsel, Yannick Carrasco.
