Domenico Tedesco said Sunday he is convinced that Kevin De Bruyne is ready for Belgium’s Euro 2024 opener with Slovakia after an injury-hit club season for his star player.A troublesome hamstring cost De Bruyne the first half of the most recent club campaign but the Manchester City playmaker has looked good since returning to action.De Bruyne missed all but one of Belgium’s qualifiers but the 32-year-old played in both of the Red Devils’ warm-up wins over Montenegro and Luxembourg, his first appearances for his country since March last year.”I’m sure that he’s ready,” Tedesco told reporters ahead of Monday’s Group E clash.”It’s true that the season was not that easy for him first of all but also for us as a national team. You can imagine that for a national coach not having Kevin De Bruyne with us for one year was not so easy.”The only thing I can do is give you my opinion about him: he had a small break after the FA Cup final against Man United and then he came to us. We tried to increase the load from day to day so we didn’t start with the whole team at 100 percent.”The first two days we really slowed down and then we increased the loads and he reacted fantastically, so I have absolutely no doubts.”EURO 2024: Three Lions, one impeccable Jude and a whole lot of worries for SouthgateBelgium come into the tournament with plenty of fresh faces after a “golden generation” of players failed to live up to expectations at previous major tournaments.Big players likes Eden Hazard and coach Roberto Martinez stepped aside in the aftermath of a disastrous group stage exit at the last World Cup in Qatar, and a revamped team still look heavy favourites to top Group E which also contains Ukraine and Romania.”Qatar is over now, we can’t change things. It was disappointing yes, but it was two years ago, 18 months ago,” said De Bruyne.”This is a new tournament and a new coach. The team has changed a lot as well so we’re all here to enjoy a good start to the competition.”You have to start in a positive flow and I feel the team is ready and has a lot of energy… That’s the only thing we can look at.”I’m feeling good, I’ve had fun. I’m also a bit older. I just want to play well and not make mistakes.”De Bruyne record for Belgium 100 caps (7946 minutes)27 goals 49 assists 76 GA in 88 90s pic.twitter.com/WgOPv2A65H— Random KDB match comps (@KDBZone_) June 5, 2024 Even though the Red Devils have tons of talent, things have changed – and palpably so. Belgium once boasted a defence that struck fear into their opponents, but nowadays, the situation has reversed. Their past defensive lineup included players like Vincent Kompany during his time at Manchester City, the formidable duo of Jan Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld at Tottenham Hotspur, and the exceptional goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.While Vertonghen remains in the current EURO squad, he is now 37 years old and likely to miss the first group game due to an injury. Injuries are the main concern for manager Tedesco. In their last friendly against Luxembourg, Thomas Meunier left the field with a hamstring problem, and Axel Witsel played only 45 minutes as a precaution. Additionally, Rennes defender Arthur Theate is dealing with an ankle injury.This leaves Tedesco with just four fully fit defenders in his squad: Wout Faes, Zeno Debast, Timothy Castagne, and Maxim De Cuyper. However, the latter two are more suited to wingback roles rather than traditional defensive positions.There’s nothing false with these boys: we got ourselves our true 9s backPerhaps the biggest disappointment for Belgium is the absence of Thibaut Courtois from the current squad. Wolfsburg’s goalkeeper, Koen Casteels, will be the first choice in the net and while the 31-year-old Casteels is a capable goalkeeper, he is not Courtois. Casteels conceded 37 goals last season in the Bundesliga, with a save percentage of 66.7% however, Courtois’ impact is especially pronounced in major international tournaments, where he has repeatedly saved his country. At Euros and World Cups, Courtois has prevented a total of 9.3 goals for Belgium (19 goals conceded, excluding own goals, with a remarkable save percentage of 80%.EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP – GROUP STAGEFridayGermany – Scotland 5-1 (3-0)/Wirtz 10, Musiala 19, Havertz 45+1, Fullkrug 68, Can 90+3 – Rudiger 87 og/SaturdayHungary – Switzerland 1-3 (0-2)/Varga 66 – Duah 12, Aebischer 45, Embolo 90+3/Spain – Croatia 3-0 (3-0)/Morata 29, Ruiz 32, Carvajal 45+2/Italy – Albania 2-1 (2-1)/Bastoni 11, Barella 16 – Bajrami 1/SundayPoland – Netherlands 1-2 (1-1)/Buksa 16 – Gakpo 29, Weghorst 83/Slovenia – Denmark 1-1 (0-1)/Janza 77 – Eriksen 17/Serbia – England 0-1 (0-1)/Bellingham 12/Monday16.00: (3.60) Romania (3.35) Ukraine (2.10)19.00: (1.48) Belgium (4.30) Slovakia (7.00)22.00: (6.25) Austria (4.20) France (1.53)Tuesday19.00: (1.85) Turkey (3.50) Georgia (4.40)22.00: (1.55) Portugal (4.00) Czech R. (6.25)***odds are subject to change***
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