Nainggolan laughs off World Cup snub

Radja Nainggolan was snubbed off from the 23 man World Cup squad for Belgium released on Monday. Nainggolan was a key figure in Roma's run in the Champions League to the Semi-Finals. Nainggolan played a crucial role in the run of the Red Devils in the Euro 2016 performing brilliantly in the tournament and has been consistently performing for the Italian giants AS Roma. The snub was definitely shocking for many people and mainly for the player who announced his retirement from the international side immediately after the squad's announcement. The mid-fielder said  “I had already planned in advance to stop if I was not allowed to join the World Cup squad. “It is true that last year I also considered making myself unavailable for Belgium, but then I still hoped to be able to participate in Russia. “To experience a World Cup was a boyhood dream, which has now been taken away from me.” The mid-fielder who was snubbed in the 2014 World Cup by Marc Wilmots said  “I have secured my place in the Guinness Book of Records as the only top player who missed two consecutive World Cups. It’s so incomprehensible that I can already laugh at it.” Belgian national team's manager Roberto Martinez said that the decision was purely tactical and not anything else as he thought that Nainggolan won't be able to provide the same attacking options as he produces at Roma. The Spaniard sprung a surprise by not naming his final 23-man squad as expected, instead listing 28 players who will be whittled down after a friendly against Portugal on June 2. "Radja is a top player," "I don't think Radja is a player to be used in a small role," Martinez said when asked about Nainggolan's reported willingness to go with the squad to Russia "even as a goalkeeper". "The reason that Radja's not in the squad is purely a tactical decision," Martinez said. Belgium are in a tricky group consisting of England, Panama, and Tunisia and will definitely look finish at the top of their group in the World Cup.