Genk's Kongolo and striker Cuypers are new in Van Bommel's squad, while Koni De Winter walks away from Belgium
The national coach named 26 players for the Nations League games in Turkey and at home against Italy, with Jérémy Doku back from injury.
National coach Mark van Bommel on Friday announced his squad for the last two group games of the Nations League. According to Sporza, the list of 26 includes two new names: Josué Kongolo, a 24-year-old KRC Genk defender who can play centrally or out wide, and Hugo Cuypers, a 29-year-old striker playing for Mexico's Monterrey. Jérémy Doku returns after an injury. Matías Fernández Pardo is left out after a long illness, and Zeno Debast is injured.
Koni De Winter chose not to come. Van Bommel said, according to RTBF, that the AC Milan defender had struggled with not playing at the World Cup or in September, and that his decision has long-term consequences. L'Avenir writes that De Winter, 24 and capped eight times, no longer wants to be available for the national team. In the last twenty internationals he played just 212 minutes, the paper says.
Van Bommel said of Cuypers, according to RTBF, that he scores wherever he plays, adding that an extra striker is useful because Romelu Lukaku would be suspended against Italy if booked in Turkey. Cuypers was preferred to younger strikers such as Lucas Stassin and Norman Bassette. For the place that went to Kongolo, the coach also considered Jorne Spileers and Matte Smets.
Belgium play in Turkey on Thursday 12 November at 6 pm and host Italy on Sunday 15 November. The Red Devils are third in their group with 6 points, behind France (10) and Italy (7), according to Sporza; Turkey have yet to score a point. Only the top two reach the quarter-finals.