2026 World Cup: Courtois, De Bruyne headline Belgium squad as Lukaku included despite Napoli struggles
worldsoccertalk.com · 2 months ago
Belgium have confirmed their roster for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, featuring stars such as Thibaut Courtois, Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku. As expected, Thibaut Courtois and Kevin De Bruyne headline the Belgium national team roster for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which will begin on June 11 in North America. Despite his struggles with Napoli this season, Romelu Lukaku was also included in the squad. FIFA set June 1 as the deadline for each federation to confirm its final 26-man roster once all club competitions have concluded. However, some countries chose to announce their squads earlier, as France did. The same happened with Belgium, who officially unveiled their final World Cup squad this Friday during a press conference held by head coach Rudi Garcia. Courtois and De Bruyne stand out as the team’s biggest stars and among the few remaining members of the golden generation that elevated the national team into Europe’s elite more than a decade ago. The presence of both players is especially significant considering they each dealt with physical issues this season. Courtois missed eight Real Madrid matches between March and April because of a muscle injury, though he recovered in time to play in last week’s El Clasico against Barcelona. De Bruyne, meanwhile, suffered a considerably more serious hamstring injury that sidelined him for four months with Napoli before returning in early March. The Class of ’26 for the #FIFAWorldCup 📚 pic.twitter.com/Vdb8WvMsI1— Belgian Red Devils (@BelRedDevils) May 15, 2026 Romelu Lukaku will play in the World Cup Much like Thibaut Courtois and Kevin De Bruyne, Romelu Lukaku also battled physical issues this season that limited his playing time with Napoli. However, his situation was far more severe than that of his Belgium teammates. The 33-year-old striker appeared in just seven matches during the 2025-26 campaign across Serie A, Coppa Italia and the UEFA Champions League because of recurring muscle injuries. That obviously impacted his performances, as he scored only one goal over the last nine months. His lack of playing time at club level naturally created uncertainty around his place with the national team. Lukaku appeared in only two of Belgium’s last 10 matches, with his most recent appearance coming in June 2025. Nevertheless, head coach Rudi Garcia trusted his experience and quality enough to include him in the World Cup roster. “Romelu has recovered, but he’s out of shape, and I’m not sure he’ll be able to start the matches. But he’s our best striker, Belgium’s all-time leading scorer,” said Garcia during Friday’s press conference. “We have five weeks to get him back to full fitness so that little by little he can help the team.” Belgium roster for the 2026 World Cup Goalkeepers: Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid), Senne Lammens (Manchester United), Mike Penders (Racing Strasbourg) Defenders: Timothy Castagne (Fulham), Zeno Debast (Sporting), Maxim de Cuyper (Brighton), Koni de Winter (AC Milan), Brandon Mechele (Club Brugge), Thomas Meunier (Lille), Nathan Ngoy (Lille), Joaquin Seys (Club Brugge), Arthur Theate (Eintracht Frankfurt) Midfielders: Kevin De Bruyne (Napoli), Amadou Onana (Aston Villa), Nicolas Raskin (Rangers), Youri Tielemans (Aston Villa), Hans Vanaken (Club Brugge), Axel Witsel (Girona) Forwards: Charles De Ketelaere (Atalanta), Jeremy Doku (Manchester City), Matias Fernandez-Pardo (Lille), Romelu Lukaku (Napoli), Dodi Lukebakio (Benfica), Diego Moreira (Strasbourg), Alexis Saelemaekers (AC Milan), Leandro Trossard (Arsenal)
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