Manchester City winger Jeremy Doku has accomplished a feat no other player has at Euro 2024 so far.
After the Belgians lost 1-0 to Slovakia, Giorgio Chiellini slammed his wayward pass that gifted Ivan Schranz a goal as “unacceptable.”
While the £55.5 million man was lively against Matjaž Kek’s side, it was expected that he would be the subject of criticism after his nation’s defeat. But as top players do, Doku responded against the Romanians with an electric showing.
Jeremy Doku records unique stat as Belgium beat Romania
The 22-year-old looked at his brilliant best from the get-go, shimmying past Andre Ratui before playing the ball to Romelu Lukaku, who set up Youri Tielemans’ opener in the second minute.
The Manchester City winger gave Ratui and the rest of the Romanian defence a tough time — bursting past them with ease and showcasing his prowess as a dribbler.
With Belgium getting three on the board after defeating Romania, Squawka revealed that Doku completed nine take-ons at the ongoing European Championship — more than any player has at the tournament.
The statistic is an indicator of the fact that despite the Premier League winner’s blunder against Slovakia, he did give the opposition defenders a rough evening during the contest.
Jeremy Doku is an asset not many teams have at Euro 2024
Barring France and Portugal, who have outstanding dribblers in their ranks in Kylian Mbappe and Rafael Leao respectively, no team at Euro 2024 has a bigger threat in one-v-one situations than Doku.
It could be argued that the former Rennes speedster is perhaps even more dangerous in such situations than both Mbappe and Leao.
Numbers certainly do not lie and Doku’s display against Romania was an example of the openness of international football suits a dribbler with as much pace and directness as him.
Domenico Tedesco’s side is not expected to go as far as the likes of tournament favourites like France, Germany, England and Portugal; but with Doku in Belgium’s ranks, they have a wildcard in the pack who could give them an edge in one-off contests.