With such glittering talent in the Belgium squad two gems are often overlooked

Football Writer

Tuesday 16 October 2012

IF things had turned out differently, Nacer Chadli would have been at home with his feet up tonight watching Belgium face Scotland on television rather than taking part.

Nacer Chadli in action for his club, FC Twente Enschede

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Graeme Macpherson

The 23-year-old was born in Liege but elected to represent Morocco, the country of his parents, when the opportunity to play international football first arose. His first cap, however, would also turn out to be his last.

Chadli made an impressive debut against Northern Ireland, collecting the man of the match award, but it was only a friendly international and therefore non-binding in FIFA's eyes. Both Belgium and Morocco named him in their squads for matches at the start of last year and Chadli opted to go with Belgium. So while Morocco were preparing for an Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Mozambique last weekend, Chadli was in Belgrade helping extend Belgium's impressive start to their World Cup qualifying campaign. He has Scotland next in his sights. In a squad bursting with household names, Chadli is perhaps viewed as something of a lesser light. Anyone dismissing his capabilities in the company of Eden Hazard, Axel Witsel, Moussa Dembele et al, however, would be doing the winger something of a disservice. Marc Wilmots, the Belgium manager, holds Chadli in such high regard that he pitched the FC Twente player straight into the team on Friday night despite him missing the first two group games against Wales and Croatia due to injury. He will likely start again in Brussels tonight, stationed on one wing with Witsel on the other, and while it would be foolish to say any player has arrived when they have accumulated only around a dozen international caps, Chadli seems well on his way to establishing himself in this very promising Belgium side. He has spent the entirety of his senior club career in the Netherlands, enjoying three seasons with AGOVV Apeldoorn before moving to Twente, managed then by fellow Belgian Michel Preud'homme, in the summer of 2010. He did not take long to settle in. His first experience of the Champions League – in a daunting group that included Internazionale, Werder Bremen and Tottenham Hotspur – proved to be a massive personal success. There was a goal at White Hart Lane to savour – even if it would prove to be no more than consolation in a 4-1 loss – and another in Bremen that proved to be more consequential, coming in a 2-0 away win. He would save the best for last, however, curling in a sublime free kick to earn Twente a 3-3 draw with Spurs in the final group game. The Dutch side had to settle for a place in the Europa League thereafter but Chadli had made his mark.Injury partially curtailed his involvement last season but did little to deter interest in the player from overseas. Fulham, after a summer-long pursuit, thought they had finally got their man on the final day of the transfer window – effectively as a replacement for the outgoing Dembele – but the transfer fell through at the last minute. Chadli, though, did not seem overly disappointed and also ruled out the prospect of leaving in January. "I did not expect to leave on the last day of the transfer window," he said. "I had been prepared to stay at Twente. I feel good here. I feel that I want to finish the season with FC Twente."With the club sitting top of the Eredivisie after a promising start, that news would surely have been welcomed by Steve McClaren, back in Enschede for a second spell as manager. Chadli is not the only former Apeldoorn winger to have made the jump from the Dutch second division to the Belgian national team. Dries Mertens, like Chadli, is a name perhaps not as well known but his rise has been similarly impressive and he is not finished yet. He signed for Utrecht in 2009 – where he was instrumental in the Europa League defeat of Celtic – before moving on to PSV Eindhoven in 2011, scoring 21 goals in a stellar first season.That kind of form brought him to the attention of scouts throughout the continent, with Liverpool, Newcastle United and Bayern Munich all thwarted in their attempts to recruit him in the summer. Dutch gratitude at retaining such a talent in their league would have diminished somewhat, however, when Mertens scored once and created two assists in Belgium's 4-2 friendly win over the Netherlands in August. Despite his domestic form, the 25-year-old had to settle for a place on the bench against Serbia and it will likely be the same again this evening. That may well be the best news Craig Levein has heard all week.

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With such glittering talent in the Belgium squad two gems are often overlooked

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