Rangers midfielder Nico Raskin has been tipped to keep two Aston Villa stars out of the Belgium team.
Nico Raskin, 24, made his full international debut for Belgium in Sunday’s 3-0 Nations League win over Ukraine.
The midfielder put on a commanding performance, earning a standing ovation at full-time.
He has won widespread praise from the Belgian press, who have hailed his ‘doggedness’ and ‘pit bull’-like qualities.
Voetbal Nieuws said: “He has that doggedness that the Belgian fans like to see.
“He was very strong as a breaker, positionally he was good and his passing was also solid to good.”
RTBF commented: “Nicolas Raskin was fantastic for his debut.
“If there’s one player who scored points today in the eyes of Rudi Garcia and his staff, it was him… [He] has the ability to play forward and build the game.
“I can’t see how Rudi Garcia could do without him in the next match.”
Sporza also hailed Raskin for his energy and ‘pit bull’-like qualities, while Nieuwsblad aimed a dig at former manager Domenico Tedesco, who had never given Raskin a call-up, with the headline “Hello Domenico?
“How Nicolas Raskin proved Tedesco wrong on his first-team debut.”
This was the first international squad chosen by Rudi Garcia, who took over as manager in January.
Raskin was initially drafted in due to absences elsewhere, but his debut performance has led to calls for him to keep his place in the starting XI.
Aston Villa’s £50 million man Amadou Onana, who was not in the squad due to a hamstring injury, and Youri Tielemans, who was suspended for the match, would need to displace Raskin to earn a spot in the team for the next match.
Tielemans joined Aston Villa at the end of his Leicester City contract, having been signed by the Foxes for £40 million in 2019.
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