Youri Tielemans shines, Amadou Onana shows versatility - how Aston Villa duo fared for Belgium vs Croatia

Youri Tielemans was on the scoresheet for Belgium in their win over Croatia on Tuesday night, whilst his Aston Villa comrade Amadou Onana also saw extended action.

Both Villa midfielders will be heading to the World Cup, as they were named in Rudi Garcia's 26-man squad for this summer's tournament.

Prior to jetting off for North America though, Belgium have two friendlies scheduled against both Croatia and Tunisia, with the latter taking place this Saturday.

Tuesday night saw them travel to Rijeka to take on Zlatko Dalic's men, in what would be a fascinating clash between two teams hoping to go far in the World Cup.

However, it was Belgium who prevailed in a 2-0 victory, with their Aston Villa pair putting in strong performances to help record that impressive win.

Youri Tielemans scores as Belgium beat Croatia

Tielemans could reportedly leave Aston Villa this summer, with it being suggested that Galatasaray may want him as part of any potential deal that brings Gabriel Sara to Villa Park.

Many Villans fans will hope that isn't to be the case though, as the 29-year-old midfielder enjoyed another excellent 2025-26 campaign in the West Midlands.

For now, he will be fully focused on his and Belgium's upcoming World Cup campaign, and his preparations for the tournament have gotten off to an ideal start.

Playing the full 90 minutes against Croatia on Tuesday evening, Tielemans would score Belgium's opening goal on 38 minutes after Jeremy Doku's deflected cross found its way to the Villa star, before he finished well with his left foot.

As per FotMob, Tielemans completed 81 per cent of his passes, created two chances with one of the being categorised as a big chance, whilst also taking 54 touches in the game.

Meanwhile, he played three passes into the final third, delivered two accurate crosses, made two clearances, interceptions and recoveries as well as winning three ground duels respectively.

Romelu Lukaku would eventually make sure of the win in the sixth minute of stoppage time at the end of the game, but it was Tielemans who put in a man of the match performance.

Onana deployed in defence for Belgium vs Croatia

With Garcia setting his Belgium team up in a back three, he called on Villa midfielder Onana to operate as a centre-back against Croatia.

That phase Onana either, as he played just shy of 70 minutes and his numbers show that he absolutely took the role in his stride.

He completed 98 per cent of his passes, made 10 defensive contributions (the most of any player on the pitch), completed one successful dribble and both of his two long ball attempts respectively.

On top of that, he also won two tackles, one of which being as the last man, made five clearances, three interceptions, two recoveries, won four of his five ground duels and took 65 touches before being withdrawn.

Unai Emery will certainly take note of Onana's quality display in central defence, as he's proven he can be another option here if absolutely necessary for the Villans moving forward.