Leicester City centre-back Wout Faes was in action for his country once more as Belgium slipped to a 2-1 defeat against France.
Leicester currently have 12 players away on international duty with their countries, and one of those is defender Wout Faes.
Faes started in a 2-2 draw against Italy last week and the Belgium media were somewhat damning of his performance, with the 26-year-old criticised for his clumsiness defensively.
That was evident once more in Belgium’s Nations League defeat against France as the Leicester star gave away a penalty after handling the ball in the box.
Randal Kolo Muani converted the resulting spot kick and this gave Belgium a mountain to climb. Lois Openda then equalised on the stroke of halftime but it was France who secured victory in the second half, with Kolo Muani scoring his second.
Wout Faes blasted by Belgium’s media after France display
Faes is a brilliant defender but during his time at Leicester, supporters have realised he can make an error that can completely overwrite his previous good work.
This is a narrative that summed up his performance against France, as he gave away the penalty which allowed the visitors to open the scoring.
Walfoot awarded him a 4/10 rating and lauded his clumsiness in the box as ‘stupid’. They wrote: “Already the author of a risky recovery at the start of the match, he ended up cracking in front of Barcola and committing a stupid penalty. Too bad because when he recovered, he was worthy of an Alderweireld on a good day.”
Voetbal Primeur shared a similar assessment of his performance as they claimed Faes played well but his mistakes are a ‘big stain’ on his performance.
Handing him a 5/10 rating, they added: “Initially played a fairly good game, but after just over half an hour of play he committed an incomprehensible penalty foul in the sixteen. This earned France a penalty and a lead, which the visitors did not relinquish. Mistakes that Faes makes more often and are also a big stain on his game.”
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Wout Faes must cut out mistakes to reach the next level
Juventus scouts were in attendance for Faes’ performance against Italy but if they watched him in the defeat to France, they wouldn’t have been impressed with him.
The Leicester star didn’t win a single tackle or ground duel in the match and was dribbled past three times. Conceding a penalty was just the icing on the cake of a poor display.
If Faes is to progress into a top-level defender, cutting out the mistakes has to be a top priority, otherwise, he will not only cost himself the chance of progression but his club and nation will suffer too.
Faes will return to Leicester training this week as Steve Cooper’s men prepare for an early relegation six-pointer against Southampton.