Belgium manager Roberto Martinez has revealed his thinking behind omitting Roma midfielder Radja Nainggolan from his provisional 28-man World Cup squad.
However, his exploits for the Italian outfit were not enough to persuade Martinez of a call-up for the national side, with the Spaniard citing “tactical” reasons behind the exclusion.
Despite his talents, Nainggolan has only made 29 appearances for the Red Devils, while he also retired from international football last August, only to retract his decision and feature for the national side as recently as March against Saudi Arabia.
On the decision to leave out the midfielder, Martinez told reporters: “Every player in the squad has got a different level of fatigue. That is why we will start the preparation with 28 players. The rule is that we have to give the final selection of 23 on June 4.
“Nainggolan is a top player. The reason is tactical. In the last two years the team has worked in a specific manner. Other players had those roles.”
In his place the likes of Man Utd’s Marouane Fellaini – who has five starts to his name this season – and Tianjin Quanjian’s Axel Witsel have been selected.
