Red Devils report to Tubize for their final two Nations League games, with Cuypers arriving after a long trip from Mexico
Only five outfield players and the goalkeepers were on the training pitch on Monday, while the rest were still resting after the club weekend.
The 26 players called up by national coach Mark van Bommel arrived at the training centre in Tubize on Monday afternoon. Debutant Hugo Cuypers, a striker at Mexican club Monterrey, spent around 24 hours travelling and arrived slightly late, according to Sporza. The other newcomer, Genk defender Josué Kongolo, also reported. He told L'Avenir that he initially did not pick up when Van Bommel called, because he did not recognise the Dutch number.
According to Voetbalkrant, citing HLN, only five outfield players took part in the first session: Arthur Theate, Mandela Keita, Nicolas Raskin, Timothy Castagne and Jérémy Doku, who all played their last club game on Saturday. The four goalkeepers also trained. The others got an extra day off or followed an individual programme. Doku is back after injury, while Zeno Debast and Loïs Openda are out injured, DH reports. According to Sporza, Koni De Winter turned down a call-up himself.
Belgium are third in their Nations League group with 6 points from four games, behind France (10) and Italy (7). Turkey have yet to score a point. The Red Devils play in Turkey on Thursday and host Italy at the King Baudouin Stadium on Sunday. Only the top two in the group reach the quarter-finals.