The Red Devils canceled open training, and Thibaut Courtois returned home

Sporting-wise, the era of new national coach Domenico Tedesco could not have started better. The Red Devils got rid of disappointment at the World Cup in Qatar on Friday in Stockholm (winning 0-3). The national team is now preparing for a friendly match against Germany on Tuesday at 8.45pm in Cologne. The Football Association wanted to use this weekend to strengthen relations with fans, but national coach Domenico Tedesco decided to cancel an open training session scheduled for Saturday.

The reason for the cancellation is that the return from Sweden was later than planned. The Devils plane stood on the tarmac for an hour and a half due to insufficient airport personnel to load the equipment and unfreeze the wings. In the end, the players only got to Zaventem around a quarter past five in the morning. National team coach Domenico Tedesco decided to leave training, replacing it with a recovery session in the gym. In turn, the supporters who were in attendance were given the opportunity to take longer-than-planned photos and ask for autographs.

The Football Association can extend its hand to the fans with its Wir schaf das campaign, in its first week as national coach Tedesco has made it clear that his priority still goes to the team and its players. Due to the departure of CEO Peter Bossart, he has been focusing more on his group in recent days.

Who was no longer present on Saturday was Thibaut Courtois. The Real Madrid goalkeeper will be replaced in the exhibition match on Tuesday in Germany by the new second player, Koen Castells. With Tedesco’s squad featuring four goalkeepers – also including Matz Sels and Thomas Kaminski – Courtois is no longer required. The other 23 players will have the rest of the day on Saturday and are expected to return to the training center in Tubize on Sunday morning.