Leicester City defender Wout Faes may find himself fighting for his future as a regular starter for Belgium.
That is if the response in the Belgian press to his latest performances is anything to go by.
Faes has been a key player Leicester since joining from Reims in 2022, playing 94 times in all competitions. The 24-year-old has started all 11 of the Foxes’ Premier League games so far this season.
His form at the King Power Stadium has seen him become a regular in the Belgian squad, making 25 appearances so far.
Even Leicester’s relegation to the Championship and the following second-tier campaign in 2023/24 could not dislodge him, with Faes playing every minute for Belgium. Euro 2024 campaign
Is Wout Faes’ Belgium under threat?
That may change soon, though. Belgium are currently enduring a run of just one win in their last eight games. Furthermore, their 1-0 loss to Israel on Sunday meant they ended their Nations League campaign with just one point from their last five matches.
Faes has received particularly harsh criticism for his performance in the Belgian media, despite a performance that saw him complete 92% passes, 100% aerial duels, five clearances and two interceptions.
Scoring it a 2/10, WalfootFlorent Malice wrote: “Absolutely catastrophic. We know that Wout Faes is, at best, a decent defender, who we shouldn’t be asking for the moon.
“The problem will always have been to turn him into the head of the defense while multiplying the errors match after match, without departing from a totally misplaced arrogance. We hope that his role will change for the next campaign or it will be impossible to level up”.
soccer scoop they weren’t that tough, but Faes could still only register 5/10 in their player ratings.
“When he slipped and gave his opponent a free path to Casteels, the frustration of many Belgian fans no doubt (again) rose,” they wrote. “Faes still looks unhappy too often. Other than that slip, the big mistakes were absent, but his positional play wasn’t always strong. He couldn’t steer the ship without a rudder anymore.
