Belgium's final World Cup squad was not meant to be released until next week; however, a huge blunder appears to have leaked the 23-man list. In what can be considered one of the biggest gaffes concerning squad selection, fans appear to already know who will be left behind for the trip to Russia.
Roberto Martinez had initially named a 28-man preliminary team, with stars from the Premier League and Serie A all being included. The manager was due to drop five names from that list, but an announcement was not due until Monday, after their friendly against Portugal.
Unfortunately, VRT might have just let that secret slip while filming the Red Devils' preparation for the upcoming tournament. In a footage by the broadcaster, supporters were given a glimpse of a pile of 23 mattresses set to be sent for the players to the team's hotel in Russia.
Sadly, each mattress was assigned to a player and thus they all had name-tags for the designated owners. From there, fans found the names of the 23 footballers who will now likely feature at the World Cup.
It appears Belgium's World Cup squad leaked because the company supplying its mattresses for Russia put 23 nametags on them and a picture got out. Which is super adorable and also very Belgian. pic.twitter.com/BpC2L2YNEs
— Leander Schaerlaeckens (@LeanderAlphabet) June 1, 2018
Comparing the names on the mattresses to Martinez's preliminary squad looks to have revealed the five people that will be left behind. They are goalkeeper Matz Sels, defenders Christian Kabasele, and Jordan Lukaku, midfielder Leander Dendoncker and winger Adnan Januzaj.
While it won't be shocking to see those players cut, as Belgian is blessed with a talented squad, this comical error will not be forgotten. Of course, all would be forgotten if Hazard and Co. do well in the tournament.
