page_title: Jan Vertonghen
section_title: International career
hierarchical_section_title: Jan Vertonghen / International career
caption_attribution_description: Taken at FirstEnergy Stadium Home of the Cleveland Browns
context_page_description: Jan Bert Lieve Vertonghen is a Belgian professional footballer who plays for Primeira Liga club Benfica and the Belgium national team. Mainly a central defender, he can also play as a left back.
  He began his senior career at Dutch club Ajax in 2006 and totalled 220 games and 28 goals for them across all competitions, serving as their captain from 2011 to 2012. He won two Eredivisie and two KNVB Cup titles during his time at the club, and in 2012 he was named Dutch Footballer of the Year. Vertonghen transferred to Tottenham in July 2012, and made the PFA Team of the Year in his first Premier League season, going on to make over 200 appearances for Spurs and winning their player of the year award in 2018.
  Vertonghen made his international debut for Belgium in 2007 and his 118 caps are the most in the history of the national team. He was part of Belgian squads that came fourth at the 2008 Olympics and reached the quarter-finals of the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the UEFA Euro 2016 as well as third place at the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
context_section_description: Vertonghen made his international debut at the under-21 level in 2006 and played in the 2007 UEFA U21 Championships.
  On 2 June 2007, he made his senior debut for the national team in a 2–1 loss against Portugal. He was also selected for the 2008 Olympics and played in every match as the Belgians unexpectedly took fourth place.
  In the 2010 World Cup qualifying, he began to establish himself as a regular, initially at centre-back as former Ajax teammate Thomas Vermaelen's partner. He scored the opening goal, also his first ever international goal, in an August 2009 friendly against the Czech Republic that ended in a 3–1 loss. On 7 September 2009, in a World Cup qualifying away match against Spain, he injured his toe and had to be stretchered off and substituted in the 29th minute. The match ended bad as well; a 5–0 loss. Now he usually plays as leftback as Vermaelen and Vincent Kompany are the preferred pairing in central defence. He was back in the starting eleven for the friendly against Hungary, a 3–0 win and the 1–0 loss to Croatia the following March.
  On 13 May 2014, Vertonghen was named in Belgium's squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. In the team's opening match against Algeria, the African side was awarded a penalty after Vertonghen pulled down Sofiane Feghouli and received a yellow card. Feghouli scored for Algeria from the penalty spot, but Belgium came back to win 2–1. He was then replaced by Thomas Vermaelen in the starting line-up for the second match against Russia on 22 June. After 31 minutes, however, Vermaelen was taken off with an injury and replaced by Vertonghen. In the final group match, Vertonghen captained the team and scored the winning goal as Belgium beat South Korea 1–0.
  Early in the 2014–15 season, Vertonghen knocked a child unconscious with a misplaced shot during a training session with the Belgian squad. In 2016, he injured two ligaments in his ankle in an accident while training before the quarter-final against Wales during UEFA Euro 2016, and as a result missed the match that Belgium lost.
  Eleven years to the day on from his international début, against the same opposition (Portugal) Vertonghen won his 100th cap (the first in Belgian history), which was presented to him by his mother.
  At the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, Vertonghen initiated the scoring in Belgium’s second-half comeback from a 0–2 deficit against Japan, heading from 20 yards out to the far post in a 3–2 comeback victory.
caption: Vertonghen with Belgium in 2013
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