After earning his first call up for the Belgian national team, a 3-1 defeat to Ukraine was not the dream debut Rangers midfielder Nico Raskin had envisaged.
Yet, as the Red Devils’ ‘collapsed’ at the hands of their Eastern European opponents – to quote another Belgian debutant in new head coach Rudi Garcia – the former Gent, Anderlecht and Standard Liege man may well turn out to be one of the few winners on a losing night.
Rudi Garcia explained that Nico Raskin’s call-up came about partly due to Amadou Onana’s recent injury issues.
The £50 million powerhouse was back on the Aston Villa bench a week ago. Garcia is keen to give Onana the time off he needs to build up his fitness, however, with Rangers’ all-action number 43 making the long-awaited step up from the Under-21s as a result.
Nico Raskin made first senior international appearance at the Stadio Enrique Roca de Murcia. He rose from the bench with 80 minutes on the clock, moments after a goal from AFC Bournemouth defender Ilya Zabarnyi put Ukraine 3-1 up in the first-leg of their UEFA Nations League play-off.
And, if Onana helped kick the door open for Raskin, then another Aston Villa midfielder could be the reason why he makes a first Red Devils start in the return leg.
Nico Raskin makes Belgium debut as Rudi Garcia’s side lose to Ukraine
Having taken over the head coach role following the disappointment of Domenico Tedesco’s tenure, ex-Lyon, Marseille and Roma coach Garcia appeared to be off to a winning start when Romelu Lukaku – Belgium’s all-time record goalscorer – put them ahead just before the break.
However, three quickfire goals in 12 second-half minutes now has Ukraine in control of the tie. The damage was very much done by the time Raskin tied his shoe laces.
“We’re going to look for an explanation for what happened,” Garcia sighs. “We controlled the first half. We were leading 1-0 quite logically.
“We collapsed a bit; Mentally, physically or both. This will serve as experience for our young players. The opponent is re-energised, but we must show that we are much stronger. We must tell ourselves that this cannot happen again.”
A first Belgium start awaits Ibrox ace in UEFA Nations League play-offs
Garcia will be forced into at least one change for Sunday’s second leg. The experienced Frenchman may be tempted into a few more, of course, but Youri Tielemans yellow card means he has already been ruled out through suspension.
Does this mean Raskin will be included on the team-sheet, potentially alongside Lukaku, Kevin de Bruyne and Leandro Trossard?
“We must be strong every minute of the match. It’s up to us to recover well. I expect a supercharged Belgian team on Sunday,” Garcia adds. “We need an intelligent and dynamic team.
“The other black point is the suspension of Youri Tielemans. He will have to be replaced, that’s why [Club Brugge captain] Hans Vanaken and Nicolas Raskin came on.”
Raskin’s brief involvement, then, was not a charity cap. Far from it. More a confidence-boosting run out, and a 15-minute audition of sorts with Tielemans joining Villa teammate Onana in being unavailable in three days’ time.
Nico Raskin was ‘head and shoulders the best player on the pitch’ as Rangers beat Celtic 3-2 on Sunday; Scoring the first and assisting the second. He excelled over 210 minutes against Jose Mourinho’s Fenerbahce too.
When the going gets tough, Raskin tends to be at his most tungsten-tipped.
