Arsenal star Leandro Trossard played 74 minutes as Belgium were held by North Macedonia in a World Cup qualifier on Friday night.
Trossard has been in encouraging form for the Gunners, netting twice and providing two assists so far this season, although he wasn’t able to bring this form into the game in Gent.
The Red Devils were unable to find a breakthrough against North Macedonia, in what was ultimately a drab 0-0.
The result sees Belgium remain second in their qualifying group, a point behind their opponents from Friday night.
Photo by Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images
Deployed in a front three alongside Jeremy Doku and Alexis Saelemaekers, Trossard wasn’t at his best in a central role on Friday.
While he was heavily involved in Belgium’s build-up, managing 34 touches in his 74 minutes on the pitch, he was wasteful in front of goal, with none of his four shots hitting the target.
Red Devils boss Rudi Garcia opted to hook the Arsenal forward with just over 15 minutes to play, introducing Lyon’s Malick Fofana in his place.
Unsurprisingly, Belgian media were not overly enthused by the 30-year-old’s showing.
Voetbalkrant awarded Trossard with a 5/10 in their player ratings, writing: “He did his best and was good when he dropped back. But as a false nine, he lacked the height and weight to force anything in the box.”
Meanwhile, Walfoot acknowledged an uptick in his performance after he moved out wide, but were still not impressed, awarding him a 5.5/10: “More often found with his back to goal than in the penalty area. More prominent when he started to move to the right side, with a good cross to boot. But too little danger brought and a header wasted on a good free-kick in the first half.”
Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty ImagesLeandro Trossard’s statistics vs North Macedonia
While Trossard will have been disappointed that he and his side were unable to get on the scoresheet, there were some encouraging signs in his performance.
Managing four shots and ten touches in the opposition penalty box, it’s clear that he was at least involved in the final third and trying to make an impact.
Leandro Trossard’s statistics vs North Macedonia – via FotMob
Meanwhile, he was relatively secure on the ball, completing 82% of his passes. Certainly not a vintage display from the winger, but a functional one in a slightly unusual role.
Trossard was lamented by Belgian media back in June, and has generally struggled for his nation in recent times, so this was at least a marginal step in the right direction.