Arsenal 25yo makes international comeback after 3-year absence | OneFootball

Albert Sambi Lokonga made his long-awaited return to the pitch for Belgium on Sunday, though it wasn’t quite the ideal comeback he would’ve wanted.

Belgium’s Albert Sambi Lokonga pictured during a press conference of the Belgian national team on Monday 30 August 2021 in Tubize. Photo: VIRGINIE …

Arsenal loan midfielder Albert Sambi Lokonga was named in the Belgium squad for the November international break, and he was hoping to make his first appearance for the team in over three years.

Lokonga first broke into the Belgian national team just a few weeks before joining Arsenal in 2021, and he went on to make his debut in September of that year.

But until Sunday, that remained his only international appearance, and he hadn’t even made the squad since March 2022.

Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images

So it was a significant moment when Lokonga was introduced as a substitute against Israel on Sunday, playing the final 23 minutes of the match. After three years and two months away, he was finally back.

The comeback didn’t quite go as planned for the midfielder. Coming on at 0-0 in search of a winning goal, Belgium instead conceded to lose 1-0.

The upside was that Belgium had already beaten Israel 3-1 in the reverse fixture, so they narrowly retained the head-to-head advantage neccessary to finish above their opponents in the final group standings. Both teams had finished on just four points from six games.

As a result, Israel have been relegated, whilst Belgium will get a chance to remain in League A if they can win their relegation play-off in March.

Photo by Fran Santiago/Getty Images

On an individual note, Lokonga completed 93% of his 27 attempted passes, winning three of six duels, and making one interception and two tackles. It wasn’t a bad display, just one that came in unfortunate circumstances.

Lokonga will hope to continue to prove himself with loan club Sevilla over the coming months so he can take part in those relegation play-offs in March.