After the 1-0 defeat to Slovakia, Domenico Tedesco’s long unbeaten run as head coach of Belgium came to an end. Against Romania, the former Schalke 04 head coach showed that he is not stubborn when it comes to owning up to his mistakes. Orel Mangala and Yannick Carrasco were strange starters against Slovakia, while Leandro Trossard was not the same player he has been for Arsenal on the left-wing. As a result, the side were able to win 2-0 and keep their Euro 2024 campaign alive.
Rather than continue with that side, Tedesco made changes. Thankfully Arthur Theate was fit, so he could take his spot at left-back over Carrasco. Bringing in Youri Tielemans for Mangala came off instantly, with the Aston Villa midfielder opening the scoring after just 70 odd seconds. Tielemans and Onana looked far more balanced than the midfield against Slovakia and meant that Belgium were creating more chances. Given the amount of long range goals that have been scored so far this tournament, Tielemans is certainly going to be a goal threat going forward.
Lukebakio for Trossard also paid off. While the former Hertha man’s final product needed to be better, he was more of a threat against his defender, being willing to run at them to create chances and move the rest of the Romanian defence around.
Belgium have to win their final game against Ukraine to guarantee they make it to the next round of the tournament. Tedesco’s willingness to change things for the game against Romania may have helped him find a side that is capable of having an extended run in Germany this summer.
GBeNeFNÂ |Â Ben Jackson
