Breaking Down Belgium's Euro 2024 Squad and Tactical Strategies

The Belgium Euro 2024 team is now out as Domenico Tedesco's Red Devils prepare for the competition this summer.

Crucially, Tedesco has only picked 25 players for his final squad—one less than the 26 players that UEFA would allow for the competition. France made the same decision, indicating a desire to enhance team cohesion by giving their players more chances to compete in Euro 2024.

Though Belgium's 'Golden Generation' may no longer be in the picture, this gifted group of players still deserves serious consideration. Kevin De Bruyne will captain the country in Germany and is still vital to the squad. When in form, Premier League players Youri Tielemans, Leandro Trossard, and Jeremy Doku are also elite talents, while Romelu Lukaku can terrorize opponents' defenders. 

Belgium Euro 2024 squad: The full 25-player team

GK: Koen Casteels (VfL Wolfsburg)

GK: Thomas Kaminski (Luton Town)

GK: Matz Sels (Nottingham Forest)

DF: Timothy Castagne (Fulham)

DF: Maxim De Cuyper (Club Brugge)

DF: Zeno Debast (Anderlecht)

DF: Wout Faes (Leicester City)

DF: Thomas Meunier (Trabzonspor)

DF: Jan Vertonghen (Anderlecht)

DF: Arthur Theate (Stade Rennais)

DF: Axel Witsel (Atletico Madrid)

MF: Yannick Carrasco (Al Shabab)

MF: Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City)

MF: Orel Mangala (Olympique Lyonnais)

MF: Amadou Onana (Everton)

MF: Youri Tielemans (Aston Villa)

MF: Arthur Vermeeren (Atletico Madrid)

MF: Aster Vranckx (vfL Wolfsburg)

FW: Johan Bakayoko (PSV Eindhoven)

FW: Charles De Ketelaere (Atalanta)

FW: Jeremy Doku (Manchester City)

FW: Romelu Lukaku (Roma)

FW: Dodi Lukebakio (Sevilla)

FW: Lois Openda (RB Leipzig)

FW: Leandro Trossard (Arsenal)

EXPECTED XI

Tedesco has made several personnel and configuration changes in his little over a year as head coach; however, injuries and the Courtois situation have yet to help. It isn't easy to forecast precisely how his squad will look come summer. Over his short tenure, the Italian-German coach has used both back-three and 4-3-3 formations, maybe favoring the former.

As things stand, De Bruyne, Doku, and Lukaku are maybe the only certain starts in this developing Belgium squad, and even then, Openda is putting pressure on the latter. As Tielemans fights to replace Onana or Mangala in midfield, Faes and Vertonghen should form the center-back tandem.

Belgium XI (4-3-3): Casteels; Castagne, Faes, Vertonghen, Theate; Onana, Mangala, De Bruyne; Trossard, Lukaku, Doku.

NOTABLE ABSENTEES

Courtois' absence is the news when it comes to Belgium's missing players. Amid his continuing feud with the coach and after his injury setback, Tedesco indicated that he would not be called upon, and he has been true to his word. Indeed, unless the goalkeeper and the manager can settle their issues, Courtois' international career may possibly be at its end after Tedesco extended his contract until 2026.

The coach has made some significant selections in attack, too, with Batshuayi a stunning withdrawal. The 30-year-old has been a cornerstone of the side since 2015. The 30-year-old enjoyed a successful season in Turkey and has a respectable goal-scoring record for his nation. AC Milan loanee Alexis Saelemaekers has also been left out despite helping Bologna reach the Champions League under Thiago Motta.

Elsewhere, injury-plagued Chelsea teenager Lavia had little chance of making the team following a setback in his recovery near the conclusion of the season. The midfielder got only 32 minutes of play in his one appearance in 2023-24.

Eden Hazard's brother, Thorgan, is sidelined after sustaining a dreadful ACL injury in April. The forward is anticipated to be out for eight months. He had failed to get into Tedesco's plans nonetheless, having returned to his birthplace to join Anderlecht the previous summer.

Veteran forward Mertens was theoretically still eligible for selection, but Tedesco has warned the 36-year-old that he will not be called upon again as a new era is ushered in.

Belgium's potential knockout stage opponents

Belgium will go straight into the knockout round and avoid playing another group winner if they place in the top two in their group. If they win Group E, they will play a third-placed club from Group A, B, C, or D. 

Conversely, if they rank second in Group E, they will play against the second-placed side from Group D, which consists of France, Netherlands, Austria, Poland, and Wales. After the group's victorious path, a possible quarterfinal encounter with the Group D winner or Group F runner-up (Turkey, Georgia/Greece, Portugal, Czech Republic) and a possible semi-final against England are ahead. They may end up in Berlin with Germany, Spain, or Italy.

Belgium's top Euros Golden Boot contender: Romelu Lukaku

Who Belgium looks to for goals this summer is still being determined. Romelu Lukaku, who is often criticized at the club level and has stats that would make many attackers bite their arm, is another issue entirely when he wears the Belgium shirt. With 83 goals overall, he is not only their top scorer all time; only Cristiano Ronaldo (128) has scored more goals for a European team.

Currently signed by Chelsea, Lukaku controversially moved to Roma last summer when he reconnected with Jose Mourinho. Although he has only scored a meager 18 goals in 37 games, he has scored 15 goals in his last nine international games, blanking in only one (a 0-1 victory against Azerbaijan).

Besides, the native of Antwerpen scored six goals in ten prior European Championship games, demonstrating his ability to rely on the greatest star.

Belgium's primary playmaker: Kevin De Bruyne

Ever since the beginning of the previous season, Kevin De Bruyne has amassed the most assists of any player in the major five leagues in Europe.

Among Belgium's ten most capped players, four are currently playing. It seems doubtful that Thibaut Courtois will be playing for Tedesco this summer, but Jan Vertonghen, Lukaku, and their creative wizard Kevin De Bruyne will. De Bruyne has been plagued with injuries lately, and it has been a year since he added to his 99 caps. Anyone who needed a reminder that De Bruyne operates at a level above most was served by his twelve-match run to begin 2024, during which he has contributed 12 assists.

The good news for Belgium is that there is no undue dependence on the Manchester City player since Johan Bakayoko, Leandro Trossard, and even Jeremy Doku, a teammate of De Bruyne, provide enough inventiveness from the wings. Belgian fans will nonetheless be hoping that on the first day of play, their playmaker extraordinaire will be lining up against Slovakia.

Belgian card magnets and elite tacklers: Koni De Winter

Koni De Winter has a great future; that much is certain. He should not follow the path of many Juventus youths who are leased out repeatedly. De Winter spent some time with Empoli and is now on loan at Genoa. The defender, who may play on the side or in the center, has made an impression this season by amassing six yellow cards—more than any other player now qualified to represent Belgium in the major five leagues of Europe. With their back-four already decided, De Winter will probably add to Belgium's team as a backup. But when it comes to fouls committed, Everton's Amadou Onana (31) wins, closely followed by Loïs Openda (29) of RB Leipzig, Lukaku's understudy.

Belgium rising star: Johan Bakayoko

There was a great deal of worry that Belgium was not turning up a talent of the same caliber after the legendary golden age. The current batch may or may not live up to their predecessors, but PSV winger Johan Bakayoko, who is already being linked to a Premier League transfer, is someone many believe can. The 20-year-old attacker has contributed eight assists, more than any Belgian player in Europe's top seven divisions, and scored six goals himself, which is one of the main reasons Peter Bosz's team is cruising to the Dutch title.

In addition, he has generated 53 opportunities, a significant decline from 39 by Atalanta midfielder Charles De Ketelaere. Having established himself as the right winger for Belgium, he has scored one goal in ten international games and assisted two others. Arthur Vermeeren, 19, is one of the players he will probably play alongside in a future Belgium squad. He recently moved from his hometown club, Royal Antwerp, to Atlético Madrid. However, the gifted midfielder is still developing and will surely have plenty of chances as he navigates this crucial stage of his career.

Belgium Coach Diego Tedesco

In February 2023, Diego Tedesco took over as manager of Belgium after Roberto Martinez left the position, and things have gone well so far. With the Red Devils, the Italian-born, German-raised manager has not lost a game since winning the German Cup with RB Leipzig in 2022.

He's got a clear philosophy, too: "I always want my teams to divide the space well," Tedesco said. "It's akin to a boxer, who should never let his guard down. On top of that, we want to win the ball back as often as possible because we love attacking - although always with a certain balance and structure, to be able to control any transitions.

Belgium tactical analysis and formation

Following the long-serving Roberto Martinez as manager of Belgium's national team, Domenico Tedesco has been adaptable with the Red Devils' squad. They will definitely be using a back four since he has never strayed from that in any of his 11 games. He has so far used five different formations, the most often employed being 4-2-3-1, which ought to be the configuration Belgium adopts most often. Their unblemished Euro 2024 qualification campaign saw them average 58.13% possession and 86% passing accuracy each game.

They began in 4-1-3-2 with Trossard and Lukaku up top and De Bruyne wedged between two wingers in his debut game in charge, a 0-3 victory against Sweden. They began in 4-1-3-2 with Trossard and Lukaku up top and De Bruyne wedged between two wingers in his debut game in charge, a 0-3 victory against Sweden. In Belgium's anticipated 4-2-3-1, a healthy KDB plays number 10, and Lukaku leads the front line. Though Doku will provide a fierce challenge, Bakayoko and Trossard should occupy the flanks. Currently leading the way is Koen Casteels, with Belgium's first-choice central defense partnership of Wout Faes and Jan Vertonghen in front of him.

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