Belgium midfielder Axel Witsel retires from international football

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
More
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Belgium midfielder Axel Witsel retires from international football
Witsel plays for Atletico Madrid at club level
Witsel plays for Atletico Madrid at club levelReuters
Belgium midfielder Axel Witsel (34) has retired from the national side after more than 15 years of international duty.

Witsel earned 130 caps and was part of the team which finished third at the 2018 World Cup in Russia. He started all three games at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, where Belgium failed to progress from their group.

"After careful consideration, it was with great emotion that I made the decision to retire from international football," the Atletico Madrid player wrote on Instagram on Friday.

"It has been a great pride to represent my country for the past 15 years. Now it is important for me to devote more time to my family and to focus on my club."

Witsel made his senior debut in March 2008 in a 4-1 friendly loss to Morocco, scoring his first goal for Belgium.

At club level he played for Standard Liege, Benfica, Zenit Saint Petersburg, Tianjin Quanjian and Borussia Dortmund before joining Atletico in July last year.

Witsel's announcement that he was leaving the international side follows similar decisions by defender Toby Alderweireld, in March, and former captain Eden Hazard in December.

21+ | COMPETENT REGULATOR EEEP | RISK OF ADDICTION & LOSS OF PROPERTY | KETHEA HELPLINE: 210 9237777 | PLAY RESPONSIBLY & SAFELY |

France gouvernement

Les jeux d’argent et de hasard peuvent être dangereux : pertes d’argent, conflits familiaux, addiction…

Retrouvez nos conseils sur joueurs-info-service.fr (09-74-75-13-13, appel non surtaxé)

Do you want to withdraw your consent to display betting ads?
Yes, change settings