Belgium boss Roberto Martinez has warned Tottenham Hotspur defender Toby Alderweireld that he is in danger of losing his World Cup place.
The 29-year-old has struggled for game time at the North London outfit since November due to injury and fitness issues.
After returning to action in February following a three-month layoff, Alderweireld has played just twice for Spurs - both outings were in the FA Cup.
On Tuesday night, the centre-back played the full 90 minutes of Belgium's 4-0 victory over Saudi Arabia in an international friendly, but Martinez feels that he still has a way to go ahead of this summer's World Cup in Russia.
"Every player needs to get a really good period of football now," The Guardian quotes Martinez as saying. "Seven weeks is not a lot of time. Certain players that play a lot of minutes, the playing time now is not essential. But other players who have not played that much, and Toby can be one of those - it is important.
"But what you see with Toby is that urgency and the defensive, natural habit of intercepting any threat around him. I saw him really sharp during the camp and [against Saudi Arabia] it was great to see that he was really strong in the last 15 minutes physically, and he lasted 90 minutes in a really good way."
Alderweireld's future at Tottenham remains unclear as he is yet to sign a new contract at the club.
Danielle Joynson
