´Jeremy lights the fuse´ – Belgium boss Garcia has high World Cup hopes for Doku

Belgium coach Rudi Garcia expects Jeremy Doku to play a decisive role at the World Cup, describing him as “the player who lights the fuse” after he shone in a 5-2 dismantling of the United States.

The Red Devils ran riot in Saturday’s friendly in Atlanta, putting the World Cup co-hosts to the sword with goals from Zeno Debast, Amadou Onana and Charles De Ketelaere, before Dodi Lukebakio netted twice from the bench.

Doku was another star performer, with the Manchester City speedster heavily involved from his position on the left wing.

Before being substituted in the 70th minute, Doku had 56 touches – the most of any Belgium player – and created three chances, with Kevin De Bruyne the only other of the winger’s team-mates to achieve that latter figure.

Doku did not register an assist, but his 18 passes in the final third were another game-high tally, as were his eight dribbles attempted (three completed) and 14 duels contested (seven won).

Asked about the winger’s impact after the game, Garcia said: “Like everyone else, Doku is important. Jeremy is the player who lights the fuse.

“To score goals, you can play collectively with passing and movement, or you can make the difference with players in one-on-one situations.

“That’s what Jeremy did in some situations. He creates danger by eliminating opponents.”

Asked if opponents would elect to double up on Doku at the World Cup, Garcia said: “I hope so, because that creates space elsewhere. It is then up to Jeremy to be calm enough to use those situations to find the free players around him.”

Belgium’s victory came in the absence of their all-time leading scorer Romelu Lukaku, who has only played 64 minutes for Napoli throughout an injury-riddled season.

As Belgium build towards their Group G opener against Egypt on June 15, with another friendly against Mexico next up on Tuesday, Garcia wants to uncover as many attacking solutions as possible.

“We have discussed this topic before, because Romelu has not played many qualifying matches and we had to find solutions,” Garcia said.

“For me, it was not the best possible 11, but the group that seemed most suitable to me to start this game. There were many reasons for this selection.

“Some players needed minutes, such as De Bruyne, [Maxim] De Cuyper and Debast. De Ketelaere had also been out of action for a while.

“I also wanted to see some partnerships between players, and I was very happy with the substitutes. A 5-2 away win, even if it’s a friendly, is something they will remember.”