Reds trio selected in Belgium’s Euro 2016 squad

Liverpool trio Simon Mignolet, Divock Origi and Christian Benteke have been named in Belgium’s initial 24-man squad for Euro 2016.

The announcement was made on Thursday morning, with the Reds’ trio all heading to France next month for international football’s second-biggest tournament. That is, if neither of them become the odd man out when the squad is reduced to 23 players for the tournament itself.

There have been question marks over whether all three would make it into Marc Wilmots’ summer plans, especially with Benteke lacking playing time.

Mignolet has had an up-and-down season for Liverpool, making some costly errors but also saving his team on occasions.

There are clear doubts over his long-term future, with Jurgen Klopp rumoured to be keen on signing a new first-choice goalkeeper at Anfield.

Mignolet is likely to be second-choice to Chelsea‘s Thibaut Courtois for Belgium, as the 28-year-old looks to add to his current 16 caps for his country.

Benteke’s form has been very patchy since joining the Reds from Aston Villa last summer, but he has done enough to keep his place in Belgium’s squad. He scored his 10th goal of the season against Chelsea last night, a decent return considering his lack of playing time post-Christmas.

Origi has come of age in 2015/16, following a difficult season with Lille, and prior to injury he was the Reds’ first-choice striker.

The youngster stands a good chance of starting up front for Belgium at Euro 2016, although he faces stiff competition from Everton‘s Romelu Lukaku.

In terms of other Premier League players also included in Wilmots’ 24-man squad, Toby Alderweireld, Jan Vertonghen, Mousa Dembele, Marouane Fellaini, Eden Hazard and Kevin De Bruyne have all made the cut.

It is an extremely attack-minded squad, with eight attackers named and just four central midfielders.

Belgium’s Euro 2016 squad:

Goalkeepers: Thibaut Courtois (Chelsea), Jean-Francois Gillet (Mechelen), Simon Mignolet (Liverpool).

Defenders: Toby Alderweireld (Tottenham), Dedryck Boyata (Celtic), Jason Denayer (Galatasaray), Bjorn Engels (Club Brugge), Nicolas Lombaerts (Zenit St Petersburg), Jordan Lukaku (Oostende), Thomas Meunier (Club Brugge), Thomas Vermaelen (Barcelona), Jan Vertonghen (Tottenham).

Midfielders: Mousa Dembele (Tottenham), Marouane Fellaini (Man United), Radja Nainggolan (Roma), Axel Witsel (Zenit St Petersburg).

Attackers: Michy Batshuayi (Marseille), Christian Benteke (Liverpool), Yannick Carasco (Atletico Madrid), Kevin De Bruyne (Man City), Eden Hazard (Chelsea), Romelu Lukaku (Everton), Dries Mertens (Napoli), Divock Origi (Liverpool).