BRUSSELS :Belgium have called up uncapped left back Diego Moreira to their squad for the start of their World Cup qualifying campaign next month, one day after FIFA approved a switch of nationality for the 20-year-old.
Moreira was born in Belgium and played at under-15 level for them, but after that chose to compete for Portugal, featuring in March for their under-21 side in a 4-2 loss to England at The Hawthorns.
He has been persuaded to switch his allegiance by Belgium’s new coach Rudi Garcia, who on Tuesday named a 26-man squad for Group J qualifiers against North Macedonia in Skopje on June 6 and Wales in Brussels on July 9.
“He is a young but professional player who wants to commit himself to a sporting project. He has had an excellent season. So this is a signal for all young players who are doing well,” Garcia told a press conference on Tuesday.
Kevin De Bruyne will continue as captain despite his departure from Manchester City at the end of the season.
“I have full confidence in De Bruyne and the choice he will make for his future. He had ten tremendous seasons at Manchester City,” Garcia added.
“He can be proud of what he has achieved. Kevin is one of the best footballers ever and is the conductor of the Red Devils.”
Aston Villa midfielder Amadou Onana returns from injury, but recent ankle surgery keeps Fulham full back Timothy Castagne out.
Squad:
Goalkeepers: Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid), Senne Lammens (Antwerp), Matz Sels (Nottingham Forest), Maarten Vandevoort (RB Leipzig)
Defenders: Zeno Debast (Sporting Lisbon), Maxim De Cuyper (Club Brugge), Koni De Winter (Genoa), Wout Faes (Leicester City), Brandon Mechele (Club Brugge), Thomas Meunier (Lille), Diego Moreira (Strasbourg), Arthur Theate (Eintracht Frankfurt)
Midfielders: Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City), Jorthy Mokio (Ajax Amsterdam), Amadou Onana (Aston Villa), Nicolas Raskin (Rangers), Alexis Saelemaekers (AS Roma), Youri Tielemans (Aston Villa), Hans Vanaken (Club Brugge)
Forwards: Charles De Ketelaere (Atalanta), Jeremy Doku (Manchester City), Malick Fofana (Olympique Lyonnais), Romelu Lukaku (Napoli), Dodi Lukebakio (Sevilla), Lois Openda (RB Leipzig), Leandro Trossard (Arsenal).
(Writing by Mark Gleeson in Cape Town; Editing by Christian Radnedge)
