Orel Mangala of Nottingham Forest has been called up to the Belgian national team ahead of their qualifying matches against Sweden and Austria.
The ‘energetic‘ 25-year-old has enjoyed a great start to the season with the Reds, forming a good partnership with new signings Ibrahim Sangare and Nicolas Dominguez.
Mangala will be looking to add to his tally of six caps for his nation, as Domenico Tedesco’s side look to confirm a place at EURO 2024.
The Red Devils currently sit joint top with upcoming opponents Austria, after four wins and a draw from their first five matches.
Belgium call-up fully deserved for Mangala
The Belgian FA announced their lineup for the forthcoming matches against Sweden and Austria via a tweet on their official Twitter account.
Mangala has started every game for Forest so far this season, with the Belgian taking up a deeper role this season allowing him to get on the ball more.
The 25-year-old made 47 passes against Brentford last Sunday, at an accuracy rate of 98% – the best completion rate of anyone on the pitch who played at least 45 minutes.
He’s also made the most interceptions of any Forest player this season (10), three more than second-placed Willy Boly.
Mangala is just improving.
The talented midfielder was a steady performer for the Reds during 2022/23. He did struggle a little bit with the physicality of the Premier League initially, but he soon found his form.
This season, he looks like a different player, massively progressing from his first season in the Garibaldi Red.
Although he is entirely deserving of his call-up to the national team, Forest will be hoping that he survives the break unhurt so that he can continue his impressive Premier League play.
