Lois Openda makes his debut in Belgium’s squad for the upcoming matches in the UEFA Nations League. The Vitesse attacker was also in the picture with the Moroccan team for a long time, but the choice for the Red Devils seems to have been finalized now. The last news contacted the proud mother of Openda shortly after the announcement of the Belgian selection.
“I am so happy”, mother Mariame opens the conversation about her selected son. “I was working in the garden when Lois called. (laughs) I knew the selection would be announced today, but I deliberately didn’t focus on it. He was super emotional. ‘Mommy, you know? I’ve been selected!’ I was crying with him on the phone.” There is a special connection between mother and son. “He had said to me for a few days: ‘Mom, if I’m not selected now, I don’t know what will.’ That’s normal after a season like that, I think, but the coach decides who plays.”
Openda big surprise with Belgian selection; debut against the Dutch beckons
The Vitesse attacker heard about his call on Wednesday afternoon.
Morocco therefore seems to have definitely missed Openda, despite the efforts of national coach Vahid Halilhodzic in the past year. The Vitesse striker could have chosen that country because of his mother’s Moroccan roots. “But you have to play with your heart, and the heart of Lois is in Belgium,” emphasizes Mariame Openda. “We actually have little to do with the country, I only know it from traveling a few times. Lois said resolutely ‘no’ to that question from Morocco. He has always said: ‘If I can’t play for Belgium, then for nobody’ .”
Openda seems to have played its last game for Vitesse, after a loan period of two seasons. Whether he will continue at Club Brugge, where his contract will continue until mid-2024, remains to be seen. There is interest from various clubs. “That has yet to be discussed with his broker. It is the club that launched him,” said the attacker’s mother. “He came to the first team under Ivan Leko, but he did not have a good click with Philippe Clement. Lois himself does not know why. He said a few months ago that a return to Bruges would be a step backwards for him, and Lois wants to move forward. He still has a contract there, but that doesn’t mean he necessarily wants to stay there.”