Everton midfielder Orel Mangala started for Belgium against Israel in the Nations League on Sunday.
Mangala joined the Toffees in the summer transfer window on loan from Lyon, and he has featured quite regularly under manager Sean Dyche.
The Everton defensive midfielder failed to make a big impact for his country as Belgium lost 1-0 against Israel.
Mangala came under criticism from the Belgian press as they were left unimpressed by his overall performance.
Het Nieuwsblad wrote that he contributed very little, and they gave him a 5/10 rating for his lacklustre performance.
They wrote: “Little added value. Played too often wide or back. Didn’t take his young midfield teammates in tow.”
Mangala stats v Israel
The Toffees midfielder made 62 passes with 98.4 percent accuracy. However, most of his passes were sideways, and he wasn’t courageous enough to play forward passes and long balls, as the newspaper rightly pointed out.
He made three tackles and one interception and did a decent job in terms of defending.
Dyche will not pay too much attention to his players’ international performances, as he will be more than happy if they return injury-free.
Mangala has made five starts in the Premier League this season, and three more appearances have come from the bench.
He averages 1.4 tackles and 1.4 interceptions per game for Everton in the league.
Tough fixtures waiting for Everton
The Toffees have picked up only one defeat in their last seven Premier League games, but they haven’t collected enough points
Everton are close to the relegation zone, and the fixture list after the international break should scare the Toffees fans.
The next two games at Goodison Park against Brentford and Wolverhampton Wanderers are absolutely vital, and these are the games they should win.
Everton will also face Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester City and Nottingham Forest before the end of this year, and it will require a gigantic effort to get something from those games.
