Belgium midfielder Amadou Onana has said he is willing to play in defence at the World Cup if required, following a successful tactical experiment in their 2-0 friendly win over Croatia on Tuesday.

Onana, who is normally used as a midfield enforcer, was deployed at centre-back at the start of the match in Rijeka as Belgium tested a new system. The match, which ended in a morale-boosting victory, saw the team move away from their usual 4-3-3 formation as part of a planned tactical trial ahead of the tournament in Canada, Mexico, and the United States.

The switch proved encouraging, with Onana forming a defensive partnership with Arthur Theate and Nathan Ngoy.

“I felt good in that position,” Onana said on Wednesday. “The partnership with Arthur (Theate) and Nathan (Ngoy) went quite well. They carried out their roles very effectively too. For a first full dress rehearsal, this was certainly not bad at all.”

He added that he remains committed to the team’s needs over his preferred role.

“I’ve played there a few times before. The team comes first. I’m a midfielder, that’s my favourite position, but if they need me at the back, I’ll do it. Even if the coach needs me up front as a striker, I’ll play there,” he said.

Amadou Onana has admitted he is most comfortable playing in midfield and believes he has the potential to become one of the best players in the world in that role. However, the Belgium international stressed that the World Cup remains the main focus and he is willing to play in defence without complaint if required.

“The World Cup is the priority right now, though, and if I have to play in defence, I’ll do it without complaining. I felt good there yesterday as well,” Onana said.

Belgium coach Rudi Garcia also expressed satisfaction with the tactical experiment after the team’s 2-0 win over Croatia, saying it offered valuable flexibility and options for the squad.

“This gives us more variety in our play, especially because we have many players who are versatile enough to operate in this system,” Garcia explained.

He added that while there is still room for improvement, the match showed encouraging signs for the future.

“Of course, there are still things that can be improved. But at least we now know that we can use this system to start a match or switch to it during a game and that we can also achieve results with it,” he said.

Garcia also praised Onana’s adaptability, highlighting his natural midfield qualities.

“Because he is naturally more of a midfielder, it gives us the option to move him around. We saw against Croatia that he has all the qualities needed to do this job successfully,” he added.