Unemployed for two years: Belgium officially announce Rudi Garcia's successor

FBL-WC-2026-MATCH98-ESP-BEL

The contract runs until the end of Euro 2028.

The Belgian Football Association announced today, Friday, the appointment of the Netherlands' Mark van Bommel as the new head coach of the national team, succeeding France's Rudi Garcia, on a contract running until the end of the 2028 European Championship.

Van Bommel will begin his duties from 15 August, the association confirmed in an official statement, with Boudewijn Zenden, Marten Martens and Reinier Robbemond joining his technical staff.

His arrival follows the end of Rudi Garcia's contract, which expired with the conclusion of the 2026 World Cup and closed an 18-month spell.

Belgium bowed out of that tournament in the quarter-finals, beaten by eventual champions Spain. The defeat ended a run of 18 matches without loss stretching back to March 2025.

The new man wasted little time in sharing his delight. "It is a great honour to become the head coach of Belgium, and I thank the Belgian association for its trust," he said.

He added: "Belgium has outstanding players and huge potential. With my technical staff, we aim to build a disciplined, ambitious and brave team, capable of competing with the best teams in the world."

"No one can guarantee success, but we can guarantee hard work, honesty and commitment," he continued. "We will give everything we have to help this team develop day by day and to make the Belgian fans happy."

Van Bommel returns to the dugout for the first time since leaving Belgium's Royal Antwerp at the end of the 2023-2024 season.

In his first campaign, the Dutch coach steered the club to their first Belgian league title in 66 years. He left after the following season, one that saw the team play in the Champions League and exit at the group stage.

His CV also features spells in charge of PSV Eindhoven, assistant roles with the Saudi Arabia and Australia national teams, and a short stint at Germany's Wolfsburg that ended less than five months after his appointment.

As a player, Van Bommel won 79 caps for the Netherlands and belonged to the generation that reached the 2010 World Cup final. He also turned out for some of the biggest clubs in Europe, most notably Barcelona and Bayern Munich.

Now Van Bommel takes charge of a side ranked eighth in the world, his sights fixed on ending the run of failures that has dogged them at European Championships.

Belgium have not gone beyond the quarter-finals of the continental tournament since its expansion in 1996. They exited the last two editions in the round of 16 and the quarter-finals respectively. That makes Euro 2028 the primary target for the Dutch coach as he begins his new project.