IN GREAT NIC
Rangers hero Nico Raskin caps amazing week with Belgium debut as boss drops major hint for ‘supercharged’ second leg
Things didn't quite go to plan for him in his first senior outing though
IT's been some week for Nico Raskin.
From dumping Fenerbahce out of the Europa League to then scoring against Celtic, it's been a whirlwind few days for the Rangers midfielder.
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And now he's capped it all off by making his maiden appearance for his national team Belgium.
Raskin, 24, was a shock inclusion in manager Rudi Garcia's first ever squad since taking over as head coach in January.
The Rangers ace was called up while Celtic rival Arne Engels was overlooked.
£11million man Engels was a regular under previous boss Domenico Tedesco, and he started games against both Italy and Israel in November.
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But he was nowhere to be seen when the Belgium squad was announced this month.
Raskin was, however, and he was handed his senior debut against Ukraine tonight.
But what was meant to be a cause for celebration for the 24-year-old ended up being an anti-climax as his side crashed to a devastating 3-1 defeat in Garcia's first game in charge.
Belgium now need to overturn a two-goal deficit back in Brussels on Sunday to hold onto their League A status.
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It was Raskin's side who took the lead in the first leg in Warsaw, with Romelu Lukaku netting on the 40th minute.
But things only went downhill from there on as the hosts ran riot in the second half and scored THREE in 12 minutes to move two in front.
Rangers star Nicolas Raskin spotted at Disney World - before Wag turns trainer by putting him through his paces
Ukraine scored their third and final goal through 22year-old Ilia Zabarnyi on the 78th minute - moments before Raskin entered the pitch.
The Rangers midfielder had 10 minutes to try and make an impact when he replaced Koni De Winter but it was too little, too late as the visitors failed to pull another back before full-time.
But manager Rudi Garcia has hinted he could have a bigger role to play in the second leg - with Youri Tielemans SUSPENDED.
He said afterwards: “We must be strong every minute of the match. It’s up to us to recover well. I expect a supercharged Belgian team on Sunday. We need an intelligent and dynamic team.
“The other black point is the suspension of Youri Tielemans. He will have to be replaced, that’s why [Club Brugge captain] Hans Vanaken and Nicolas Raskin came on.”
The second leg will be played at the Cegeka Arena in Genk on Sunday and Gers fans will no doubt be tuning into the 7.45pm kick-off showdown to potentially see their man in action again.
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