Belgium release 24 man preliminary Euro 2016 squad
With Euros less than a month away, the excitement has been building up for the prestigious tournament. Belgium who are one of the more fancied teams released their 24 man preliminary squad with Eden Hazard being named the captain. Vincent Kompany who is their regular captain is set to miss the Euros because of injury and his calm and solid presence int he centre of defence along with his leadership skills will be sorely missed by the Belgian Red Devils.
The 24 man squad will have one member removed when the final 23man squad is announced on 31st May. The Belgian squad looks well balanced throughout and is dominated by Premier League stars with players from Chelsea, Manchester United, Liverpool, Everton and Tottenham making the cut.
There is no shortage of creative players for Belgium with the likes of Hazard, Kevin De Bruyne, Mertens and Witsel. The defence also looks solid with Vertonghen, Alderweireld and Lombaerts providing calm and assurance at the back.
The team is spoilt for choice up front with the likes of Lukaku, Origi, Benteke and Batshuayi providing Marc Wilmots plenty of options up front. The Belgian Red Devils released the 24 man preliminary squad on their official Twitter account.
Notable absentees from the squad include Kevin Mirallas, Nacer Chadli and Thorgen Hazard who have been put on standby. Marc Wilmots said that any of the injured players could be replaced by the standby ones in the squad. With only one man to be removed from this preliminary squad, Belgium have more or less announced their squad for the Euros.
Wilmots also said that the absence of their regular captain Vincent Kompany will be a huge loss, but he also said that the Manchester City captain will not be a part of the backroom staff.
The Belgium squad looks really strong and Hazard and his men will be hoping to perform upto their full potential in France and bring home the trophy.
Goalkeepers: Thibaut Courtois, Simon Mignolet, Jean-François Gillet.
Defenders: Toby Alderweireld, Dedryck Boyata, Jason Denayer, Björn Engels, Nicolas Lombaerts, Jordan Lukaku, Thomas Meunier, Thomas Vermaelen, Jan Vertonghen.
Midfielders: Mousa Dembele, Marouane Fellaini, Radja Nainggolan, Axel Witsel, Eden Hazard, Kevin De Bruyne, Yannick Carrasco, Dries Mertens.
Forwards: Michy Batshuayi, Christian Benteke, Divock Origi, Romelu Lukaku.