Nico Raskin blows Belgium fans away as Rangers star marks milestone with astonishing standing ovation
The 24-year-old handed his first start at full international level and didn't disappoint as he delivered an inspired performance
Nico Raskin received a standing ovation on his first start for Belgium after producing a man-of-the-match display to inspire his country to a sensational Nations League turnaround against Ukraine.
New Red Devils boss Rudi Garcia’s side were trailing 3-1 from the first leg of their Nations League quarter final first leg but romped to a 3-0 win in Genk thanks to goals from Maxim De Cuyper and a Romelu Lukaku double.
And it was 24-year-old Raskin who was the star of the show in the Cegeka Arena in what was his first start for his country, having come off the bench in the first leg for his full international debut.
Raskin, handed his big chance due to the suspension of Youri Tielemans, went off in the last minute of the encounter to rapturous applause as the home fans were on their feet to salute a new hero.
The former Standard Liege man has been in fine form for Rangers this season with 39 appearances, including two goals - one against Celtic before signing off from club duty last weekend - and six assists which earned him an international call-up.
Belgian fans flooded social media with praise - but Rangers fans weren’t surprised after watching him star all season.
One Red Devils supporter said: “It was a joke when people said they wanted Raskin in the national team. And now?” One Gers fan said: “We need to give Raskin a new contract right now.”
The Belgian media were equally impressed. Sporza wrote: “Raskin and Vanaken are emerging as a powerful duo in midfield, substitute Saelemaekers has been providing some extra fire since his replacement. With a volley, he wants to take care of the preservation, but that was a bit too much hoped for.”
Nieuwsbald said: “Alert, constantly pointing, coaching, invariably playable, but also invariably unthreatened. In the Raskin zone, the Devils were allowed to play football carefree. It made him grow in the game. Raskin often played in an armchair. Raskin handed out the passes for the central duo Debast-Faes.”
Speaking after the first leg in Ukraine, boss Garcia admitted Raskin was set for his big chance. He said: "It is a pity that Youri Tielemans will be suspended. Raskin or Vanaken can replace him. Vanaken and Raskin came on the pitch in view of Sunday.
"It will serve as a lesson. On Sunday, we will have to have the bit between our teeth. We will see if we are a great team. We will have to get going straight away. We will have to look for those goals from the first minute. We have to bite the bullet. We are a big team, we have to be able to put this right."
Follow Record Sport on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram for all of the up-to-the minute breaking news, video and audio on the SPFL, the Scotland national team and beyond.
You can get all the news you need on our dedicated Rangers and Celtic pages, and sign up to our newsletters to make sure you never miss a beat throughout the season.
We're also WhatsApp where we bring all the latest breaking news and transfer gossip directly to you phone. Join our Rangers community here and our Celtic community here.
Tune in to Hotline Live every Sunday to Thursday and have your say on the biggest issues in Scottish football and listen to Record Sport's newest podcast, Game On, every Friday for your sporting fix, all in bitesize chunks.