Hans Vanaken, titular candidate in Hazard’s absence: “It’s always weird a selection without Eden because normally he is always there”

Gathered since Monday in Tubize, the Red Devils will face Côte d’Ivoire this Thursday in a friendly match before playing their third and fourth Nations League games against England and Iceland.

As a preamble to the two meetings, Dedryck Boyata and Hans Vanaken answered journalists’ questions on Tuesday.

It was first Hans Vanaken who appeared before the press. The Brugeois spoke about his good week and his contract extension in the Venice of the North: “This new contract shows the club’s confidence in me. And then Sunday’s match, 3-0 against Anderlecht, for me it was a great week.”

The Golden Shoe also spoke about his chances of participating in the matches that are coming with the Devils with in particular the absence of Eden Hazard: “It’s hard to say. I believe that during the first match, we will see players who normally play less with Belgium. The coach has many possibilities and we will see the choices he will make.”

The Brugeois also spoke about the absence of Eden Hazard: ” It’s always weird a selection without Eden because he is still there normally. He is a player who will be missed because he can decide the fate of a meeting. But we have a team with a lot of qualities to find solutions to make up for its absence. “

It was then the turn of Dedryck Boyata, the new captain of Hertha Berlin to speak: “I feel good. I missed the last selection because of a small injury but now the glitches are behind me. I have resumed the season and I feel good now. ”

With the retirement of Vincent Kompany and the absences of Vertonghen and Vermaelen, Boyata could well find himself in the shoes of a holder: “When I come to the national team I always try to be present when the coach calls on me. I am a face that comes up quite often in the Devils, but I cannot come and ask for guarantees. If I am established, I do the work that I am asked. But of course what I dream of is to be able to play as many matches as possible with our national team.“

Relive the press conference:

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