Surprise of the chef, Siebe Van der Heyden not only started, but played the 90 minutes once morest Burkina Faso.
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sieve van der heyden
Without surprise, See Van der Heyden was then sent to his first-ever post-match press conference. And as before the match, he had a big smile: “I’m very happy, really. It’s crazy to wear this jersey. A year ago, I would never have imagined that, and there two days ago, I would never have imagined wearing it for 90 minutes,” said the Union Saint-Gilloise defender. Who does not hide that he was a little stressed: “You play for Belgium, it’s not anything. There was stress in the first ten minutes, of course. Then, I just enjoy it as much as possible”.
Van der Heyden naturally received many messages of support. “I don’t know if my mum managed to watch this game, she was too stressed (laughs). I put my phone in my locker, I’ll watch it later. I had already received messages before the game, especially Felice Mazzù”, he explains. “If I scored points? It’s not for me to say. I’m a realistic person and I’ll take it day by day, we’ll see if the coach appreciated my work. I just gave myself 100%”.
A profile that Martinez likes
If it is difficult to imagine Siebe Van der Heyden becoming a full member of the 23 Devils who will go to Qatar, the profile of the Unionist appeals to Roberto Martinez. “Siebe impressed me a lot in training,” explained the coach following the match. “It’s a very special position. Jan Vertonghen is of course the master in this position, and I’m happy with what Arthur Théate achieves there. Today, Siebe has grown in the game, and allows me to count a another weapon in this position where we also had Elias Cobbaut or Hannes Delcroix”. Who knows, Van der Heyden can hope that his rare profile offers him new minutes in the Devil…
