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Kevin de…..Ketelaere. While the focus of the Round of 16 match was entirely on USA’s No. 9 Folarin Balogun, Belgium coach Rudi Garcia was loading up his own False 9 move.
With the rescinding of the American striker’s red card dominating the narrative going into the clash, Garcia had already got down to plotting his on-field response.
Part 1 of that plan was striking off the talismanic Kevin de Bruyne from the starting sheet, given his returns from the first four matches were sparse. And Part 2 was giving his 6-ft-4 versatile No. 9 Charles Ketelaere the freedom to take on his multiple duties upfront – an attacking midfielder-cum-winger-cumcentre forward.
Known for his vision and dribbling skill that resembles De Bruyne’s, and the technical finesse to back the intelligence, the Atalanta player had been deployed exactly like this in pre-World Cup friendlies.
Unleashing the 25-year-old De Ketelaere on the USA was a move the co-hosts didn’t see coming, as Garcia held back Romelu Lukaku too. The result was two quick goals in the first half from De Ketelaere, who had gone under the radar in the first four games.
The first strike in the ninth minute was a poacher’s tap-in, and the second neutralised Malik Tillman’s equaliser with a header from an ace Leandro Trossard cross.
De Bruyne had provided the assist for De Ketelaere’s first international goal in a Nations League third-place playoff against Italy. After his brace in Seattle, he now has six goals in his last nine matches for Belgium.
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A bright future for De Ketelaere had been predicted in 2021 itself, with the Belgian golden generation in danger of passing by without anything to show for their individual lustre. Youri Tielemans was the bridge between the two generations, but De Ketelaere, who won the Young Talent of the Year ahead of Jeremy Doku back in 2019, was being put through the paces.
Growing up at Bruges, he had flopped at AC Milan in his first season due to unpredictable growth spurts till he settled at 6-ft-3. But the Rossoneri had noted his potential for goals. For Bruges, he had outshone in a UEFA Champions League draw with Paris Saint-Germain, which had both Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe in their ranks.
Hometown club
De Ketelaere’s love for football was nurtured at Club Brugge’s Jan Breydel Stadium – just 500 metres away from his home. He loved his time as a ballboy at the arena – his second-best memory with the Red Devils. His first – the World Cup in Russia where Belgium finished third.
“There’s the bronze medal, but also all the people who came together to watch the Devils,” he told dhnet.be in 2021. “I also have a good memory of a friendly match against Slovakia. I was a ballboy, and it was great fun,” he added, referring to a 2-1 win in February 2013.
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The BBC reported how his name was written in graffiti on a wall near his home after an injury-time winner at Zenit St Petersburg. He had joined the club at 7, and weaned himself away from tennis which he was good at, because Bruges was his fairytale club in the fairytale city. As his fame grew and they dubbed him Prince Clarles, he stopped visiting the neighbourhood bakery, because he was too shy for selfies. He would continue staying at his mother’s place, watch darts obsessively on weekends and study law.
While AC Milan never clicked, De Ketelaere found his home east in Bergamo with Atalanta, first on loan and then permanently. He literally scored within minutes of the start in his first match, and settled in a versatile role where he had 32 goals and 31 assists.
Garcia deployed him closer to the box – to hone his sharpness.
Belgium had gone ballistic on l’affaire Balogun. Behind the bombast and bedlam though, was Garcia slipping in his real False Nine – rearranging the personnel as KDB changed to CDK.
English (US) ·