Following Eden Hazard’s decision to retire from the Belgian national team, Kevin De Bruyne has been named the new captain of the side.
The Manchester City midfielder was announced as the skipper of the side before their Euros 2024 qualifiers against Sweden on Friday. The head coach of Belgium, Domenico Tedesco was tasked to select a new leader for the Red Devils.
Ahead of their Euro 2024 qualifying campaign, the 37-year-old manager named De Bruyne as Belgium’s new captain. The Manchester City player has 97 caps for his country and 25 goals at the international level.
Confirming his appointment, De Bruyne spoke to RTL-TVI television about it.
‼️🇧🇪 Official: Kevin De Bruyne named the new Captain of Belgium, Thibaut Courtois and Romelu Lukaku are VC’s. pic.twitter.com/0naEdyb8Jy
— Madrid Zone (@theMadridZone) March 21, 2023
“It’s an honour for me to be named and represent the country in this way.
I’m almost 32. I’ve never considered international retirement. I think I can still bring something to the table and help the youngsters.”
Inter Milan’s Romelu Lukaku and Real Madrid shot stopper, Thibaut Courtois have been selected as the two deputy captains. De Bruyne has previously captained Belgium on several occasions. The latest being against Croatia in their final 2022 World Cup group-stage match.
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The European Championship Qualifier against Sweden on Friday will kick-start De Bruyne’s tenure as the full-time skipper of Belgium.
The 31-year-old will be aiming to be the first Belgium captain to lift a major trophy for the nation. But then, he still has a challenge of helping his team to qualify for the 2024 EUROs in Germany.
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