Adnan Januzaj’s international debut will not be recognised as an official match – meaning the Manchester United star will have to do it all over again.
The friendly against Luxembourg last Monday will not count due to the errors made by Belgium national coach Marc Wilmots.
Despite Wilmots’ side winning side 5-1 where goals included a hat-trick from Romelu Lukaku, FIFA have ruled the win as invalid due to Wilmots making too many substitutes in the World Cup warm-up match.
The game, originally an official friendly, has been re-classified as a non-cap practice game. A FIFA spokesman told ESPN: “Belgium made seven substitutes but for an official A-Match only six are allowed.”
The United winger was one of four half-time substitutions however it was the introduction of Nicolas Lombaerts for Jan Vertonghen after 77 minutes that rendered the match invalid.
Januzaj will be make his official debut for the second time when Belgium take on Tunisia in their final friendly ahead of the World Cup kick off in Brazil.
Main image courtesy of Belgo TV via YouTube, with thanks.
