Belgium played a friendly against Croatia on June 2 using a revised formation that saw midfielder Amadou Onana shifted to centre back. Belgium won 2-0 in the match held away from home [1, 2].
The change was part of an experiment to add tactical variety ahead of the World Cup to be held in Canada, Mexico, and the United States later this year [1, 2]. Coach Rudi Garcia described the defensive trial as successful and said it increases Belgium’s options. "This gives us more variety in our play, especially because we have many players who are versatile enough to operate in this system. Of course, there are still things that can be improved. But at least we now know that we can use this system to start a match or switch to it during a game and that we can also achieve results with it," Garcia said [2].
Onana said he felt comfortable playing as a centre back alongside Arthur Theate and Nathan Ngoy. He added, "I felt good in that position. The partnership with Arthur (Theate) and Nathan (Ngoy) went quite well. They carried out their roles very effectively too. For a first full dress rehearsal, this was certainly not bad at all." While midfield remains his preferred position, Onana expressed willingness to play anywhere needed at the World Cup. "I'm a midfielder, that's my favourite position, but if they need me at the back, I'll do it. Even if the coach needs me up front as a striker, I'll play there," he said. "The World Cup is the priority right now, though, and if I have to play in defence, I'll do it without complaining. I felt good there yesterday as well," Onana added [2].
Garcia highlighted Onana’s versatility as a key asset. "Because he is naturally more of a midfielder, it gives us the option to move him around. We saw (against Croatia) that he has all the qualities needed to do this job successfully," the coach said [2].
On June 3, after the match, Onana and Garcia spoke to the media about the experiment and its positive outcome [1, 2]. The Belgian team will continue preparations ahead of the World Cup later this year across the three host nations.