7M - Injured Stars De Bruyne And Lukaku Make Belgium Squad

Belgium manager Rudi Garcia has announced his 26-man roster for the 2026 World Cup, selecting key veterans Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku despite their ongoing fitness issues. Both players currently find themselves sidelined at Napoli due to eye and hip injuries, respectively, but are tracking to compete in their fourth consecutive World Cup finals. Historically, Lukaku remains Belgium's joint-top scorer in the tournament with five goals, while De Bruyne shares the top assist record with four.

Making their 15th tournament appearance, Belgium holds the record among European nations for the most World Cup qualifications without ever lifting the trophy. As Garcia prepares to lead the team as their fourth foreign coach in World Cup history, his selection choices included some high-profile omissions. Chelsea midfielder Romeo Lavia was excluded following an injury-plagued season, and striker Lois Openda missed out after netting only once in 24 Serie A appearances for Juventus. Additionally, promising youngsters Mika Godts and Arthur Vermeeren were left out, despite Godts registering 17 goals and 12 assists for Ajax.

The final roster features prominent Premier League standouts such as Jeremy Doku, Leandro Trossard, Youri Tielemans, and Amadou Onana.

The complete Belgium squad includes: Thibaut Courtois, Senne Lammens, Mike Penders; Timothy Castagne, Zeno Debast, Maxim De Cuyper, Koni De Winter, Brandon Mechele, Nathan Ngoy, Joaquin Seys, Arthur Theate; Kevin De Bruyne, Amadou Onana, Nicolas Raskin, Youri Tielemans, Hans Vanaken, Axel Witsel; Charles De Ketelaere, Jeremy Doku, Matias Fernandez Pardo, Romelu Lukaku, Dodi Lukebakio, Leandro Trossard, Diego Moreira, Alexis Saelemaekers.