Van Bommel explained the reasons why Lukaku has not been getting much playing time recently during a press conference.

Belgium is preparing for a UEFA Nations League match at home against Turkey on Friday evening. During Thursday's press conference, coach Mark van Bommel answered numerous questions about Lukaku.

Lukaku is proud of his outstanding record in the Belgian national team shirt, becoming their all-time leading goalscorer with 93 goals. The Fenerbahçe striker is expected to maintain this record in the near future. After Lukaku, the product of Anderlecht's youth academy, comes Kevin De Bruyne, who has scored 38 goals for Belgium.

However, Lukaku's status did not guarantee him a starting spot in last week's match against France. The 33-year-old from Antwerp started on the bench, and Van Bommel ultimately did not bring him on. In the match against Italy on September 25, Lukaku came off the bench and played for seven minutes before the match ended.

Lukaku's benching in these two matches attracted the attention of the Belgian media, and his limited playing time after coming on as a substitute became a topic of discussion. As a result, Van Bommel spent a considerable portion of the press conference answering questions about Lukaku.

According to Spozá, Van Bommel said: "It's not at all that Lukaku cannot come off the bench or start; quite the opposite. It depends on what we think is necessary at a particular stage or situation in the match."

Van Bommel explained: "He has certain qualities, but in that match I felt we were a bit far from goal, which allowed us to take advantage of pace." In both matches against Italy and France, Charles De Ketelaere started as the striker. In Rome, he was replaced by Lukaku; in the match against France, Van Bommel chose to bring in Mathías Fernández-Pardo instead.

Van Bommel said: "I communicate a lot with Lukaku. I also went to Istanbul to meet him and spoke with him via FaceTime about the current situation and his playing style. I'm not saying Lukaku cannot do it; quite the opposite. The only issue is that he's not getting much playing time at Fenerbahçe."

Van Bommel added: "This needs to be considered. I also explained to him that I chose pace not because he's out of form, because he trains very well. But players don't necessarily get on the pitch just because they perform well in training, and vice versa. This topic is more important to you, but there's no need to read anything special into it."

For Lukaku, the upcoming match against Turkey could be particularly meaningful, since he is currently playing in Turkey. Van Bommel said: "I don't see that in him. He's in good form and very comfortable."

So far, Lukaku's season has not gone smoothly. The right-footed striker has not secured a starting role at his club, and to date, he has not scored or assisted. Lukaku's contract with Fenerbahçe runs until the end of this season, and the club has the option to extend it for an additional year.

Website AF đã ra mắt! Xem tin tức đầy đủ, bình luận, chi tiết trận đấu và thống kê trên máy tính. Truy cập: www.allfootballapp.com