Tedesco on transforming Belgium, feeling Italian and Lukaku honesty | OneFootball

Belgium coach Domenico Tedesco assures he ‘feels Italian’ and always cheers on the Azzurri, except in tomorrow’s Nations League clash, where he thanks Napoli striker Romelu Lukaku for being ‘honest.’

It kicks off in Brussels on Thursday at 19.45 GMT.

The Azzurri had been leading 2-0 in Rome last month before Lorenzo Pellegrini’s red card prompted a Belgian comeback for 2-2, but they need just one point from the final two games to be sure of a place in the Nations League quarter-finals.

This will always be a special fixture for Tedesco, who was born in Calabria and moved with his family to Germany at the age of three.

“I didn’t even have time to get excited about facing Italy in Rome, because we conceded a goal in the opening minute!” the 39-year-old said to La Gazzetta dello Sport.

“I was born in Italy, I have many relatives there, it was wonderful to face Italy for the first time, especially as I always cheer on the Azzurri. Both my parents are Italian, I grew up in an Italian household, albeit in Germany since I was 3, but I do feel more Italian.”

Does he dream of one day coaching in Italy?

“I hope to in future, but I have a contract until after the 2026 World Cup. After that, who knows?”

Much like Italy, Belgium struggled badly at EURO 2024 and were forced to regroup, so Tedesco feels a kinship with Spalletti in that sense.

“We know that we rejuvenated the squad after the 2022 World Cup and were missing numerous players, like Onana, De Bruyne and Lukaku, so we had to throw a lot of young faces in. Luciano Spalletti did the same, which made it a very open and entertaining match.

“We went into the Nations League knowing that we had to try something different. After the Euros, we had to test out some new lads. For example, we are lacking in full-backs, because Timothy Castagne doesn’t play much at Fulham, so I threw in Maxim de Cuyper from Bruges and he scored a great goal. We’re experimenting, but obviously we also want to win and reach the play-offs.”

Tedesco feels kinship with Spalletti

Luciano Spalletti Italy (Photo by FRANCK FIFE / AFP) (Photo by FRANCK FIFE/AFP via Getty Images)

Spalletti transformed the Italy tactical set-up after the European Championship, moving permanently to a three-man defence, and it seems to have paid off with all victories in the Nations League other than that 2-2 draw with Belgium.

“Spalletti is very experienced, he made smart decisions and can move from 3-5-2 to 3-4-3 because he has the players to do it,” said Tedesco.

“The keys are the Inter players, Federico Dimarco, Davide Frattesi, Nicolò Barella and Alessandro Bastoni, while Torino and Atalanta also play that system. Italy seemed very organised to me.”

Belgium are still missing Amadou Onana and Kevin de Bruyne, but compared to the other post-Euro games they have Lukaku back after he asked to be left out of international duty to focus on regaining full fitness at Napoli.

“Rom is important for us, not just on the pitch, but off it too,” assured Tedesco. “We spoke for a long time and it’s fundamental to do that, because every player has his own needs. I don’t want to force anyone to play if they don’t feel up to it. Romelu told me in September that he arrived late at Napoli and had missed pre-season training, so he needed to catch up,” continued Tedesco.

“He was very honest and said he would come when he was able to help the team. De Bruyne too decided to skip the Nations League to get more rest. It’s tough, but important to be honest in these situations, Kevin can reach over 80 games this season between Manchester City and Belgium, so he needed a break.”

Atalanta star De Ketelaere was in the squad, but was forced to withdraw due to injury just as he was finding his form with Atalanta.

“It’s disappointing, I expected him to flourish because he played so little at Milan, whereas Atalanta is a good place to develop young players. I am not surprised by how much he has improved.”

Meanwhile, Tedesco has called up Juventus winger Samuel Mbangula for the first time, promoting him from the Belgium Under-21 squad.

“I have Doku and Carrasco in his role and both are injured, along with Fofana and Trossard, but young Belgian players know they have a chance with me.”