Belgium World Cup 2026 team guide

This article is part of the Guardian’s 2026 World Cup Experts’ Network , a cooperation between some of the best media organisations from the 48 countries who qualified. theguardian.com is running previews from three countries each day in the run-up to the tournament kicking off on 11 June. The plan The head coach, Rudi Garcia, is well aware that the Red Devils’ strength lies in attack. Kevin De Bruyne, Jérémy Doku and Romelu Lukaku can each make a difference in their own way. The defence is, except for goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, the weak point after the golden generation of Toby Alderweireld, Vincent Kompany, Thomas Vermaelen and Jan Vertonghen gradually retired. “That is why I will always choose four defenders and not five,” Garcia explains. “With five defenders I have to sacrifice an attacking player and that would be a shame.” Garcia usually opts for a medium block to support the attack and not put too much pressure on the defenders. His reasoning could be described as flawed because there is a problem with Lukaku. He played only 64 minutes for Napoli this season and none for the national team because of injuries until coming off the bench in Tuesday night’s 2-0 win against Croatia, scoring the second goal in added time. He was also deeply affected by the death of his father. Belgium’s all time top scorer – 90 goals – will therefore start the World Cup without any kind of match rhythm. …