Tielemans tends to answer thoughtfully and in detail, even if his responses aren’t always what you might expect.
That’s especially true when he reflects on how long he’s been playing and how many matches he’s clocked up.
He broke into Anderlecht’s first team at 16 and has amassed 668 appearances for club and country. Last month, he had to withdraw from Belgium’s World Cup quarter-final against Spain after an issue arose in the warm-up.
“I actually feel very good,” he said.
“That last game was simply the result of overload—too many matches, too many minutes. In the end, my body couldn’t cope anymore.
“We played 120 minutes against Senegal, then faced the U.S. a few days later, and three days after that we played Spain.
“In the warm-up, my body just switched off for some reason.
“I don’t think I’m a player who absolutely needs a rest. There are a lot of games and the manager has to manage the squad, but when I’m good, I’m good.
“If it isn’t going well, I’ll know straight away and I’ll tell the manager—but that doesn’t happen often.”