When Arsenal loanee Albert Sambi Lokonga was initially left out of Belgium’s squad for the November international break, the news came as a surprise to almost no one.
Lokonga made his debut for Belgium back in 2021, but that substitute cameo remains his only cap for his country. After a few more appearances on the bench in late 2021 and early 2022, the midfielder dropped out of contention completely for two years.
The player told the media he was “disgusted” by the way he’d been utilised on international duty, calling out manager Roberto Martinez and criticising the lack of clarity around his limited minutes.
Yet Martinez’s departure from the national team opened the door to Lokonga’s comeback, and that comeback is now a reality.
With four of Domenico Tedesco’s initial call-ups pulling out of the squad through injury, Belgium have confirmed that Lokonga is one of their four replacements.
Lokonga reclaimed his national team spot by first winning a starting role with loan club Sevilla. It hasn’t been a smooth road, with a couple of hamstring injuries limiting the player to just seven appearances.
But on the back of three consecutive starts and two full 90-minute matches, Lokonga is finally coming into an international break with some momentum behind him.
Belgium face Italy and Israel in a couple of Nations League fixtures over the break, with a very slim chance to finish in the top two and progress to the quarter-finals.
It could require a total capitulation from either Italy or France to make that happen, as they’re a respective six and five points ahead of Belgium with two games remaining.
All Belgium can do is win their two games and hope the other two results pan out for them.
