45 Days Ahead Of The 2022 World Cup: Hazard Position In The Belgian National Team Questioned
JAKARTA - The 2022 World Cup is just a matter of days. Eden Hazard's difficult situation at Real Madrid threatens his position in the Belgian national team.
Hazard's minute drought in Madrid continues. People in Belgium are starting to ask if Hazard really should continue to be a'starter' in the national team with the near World Cup.
The question raised and coach Roberto Martinez had already started discussing the controversy. For now, the coach remains firm on his commitment to the captain, even though he realizes that something has changed and he will have to analyze the situation in the coming weeks.
"Hazard is still a very important player for the national team, that's for sure," Martinez said in an interview with RTBF, quoted by Marca, Thursday.
"His experience, his influence on opponents, his ability to create harm... In this profile, in my opinion, he is still one of the best in the world," continued the concoctor.
But, Martinez continued, now he has to ask himself if Hazard can still play 90 minutes or seven games in a very short time.
"This is very different and the situation could change a lot in the next five weeks. Everyone knows that Eden has played very few games for a long time and that has consequences," he explained.
"We will see the situation as the World Cup approaches and see what role we can give him. I don't see him as a No. 9 player or even behind the striker.
"He has to play on the left and start playing from there. I also don't see him as an impacted player when coming off the bench.
"He's a player who had to carry the rhythm of the game from the start. We know exactly what we can expect from him."