Vertonghen praises: ‘Blown Witsel’ and… ‘Brilliant Evenepoel’ | European Football Championship 2020

He says he doesn’t feel any pressure yet. Jan Vertonghen certainly isn’t worried about defending the Red Devils – “We’ve shown all the boys that we can put together a stable defense.”

So no pressure but impressed. Vertonghen has a lot of praise for Axel Witsel in an interview with Ruben Van Gucht. The midfielder is in the final stages of his rehabilitation after an Achilles tendon injury kept him on the sidelines for months.

“At first I didn’t know where Axel would be when he got here,” admits Vertonghen. “But he amazed me with his physical readiness. It’s unbelievable how he did it.”

Vertonghen also returned to the item at the press conference. “I never expected him to join this form. He trains hard and you can see that he is also very advanced physically. I think he will play an important role for us.”

Remco Evenepoel was another great “return kid.” As a racing freak, Vertonghen follows the rider’s powerful punches in the Tour of Belgium from the front row. “He was really impressive in the opening stage yesterday. Watched it with Levin Mischalk and Bert Driessen (two physiotherapists, editor).”

“They have a special relationship with many of these riders, because they helped them during rehab. (laughs) And soon the Tour is coming, hey. That will be fine here.”