Inside Belgium’s World Cup roster 2026: Kevin De Bruyne, Romelu Lukaku aim for one last shot at glory

Belgium’s Golden Generation closed their era together in disappointing fashion as they bowed out at the group stage of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

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It marked a significant fall for a team consistently in the upper reaches of the FIFA World Rankings and a nation that claimed a third-place finish at Russia 2018.

The Red Devils have since turned over a new leaf and head to North America under the guidance of head coach Rudi Garcia.

A couple of the old stagers remain, but a fresher crop of players, largely unburdened by the weight of expectation from the past, are targeting a run deep into the tournament.

The Sporting News has all the key details on Belgium’s World Cup squad below.

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Belgium World Cup roster 2026

Belgium announced their final World Cup roster on May 15.

That date was the deadline to submit to FIFA an official preliminary list of 35-55 players, from which teams are required to name a final roster by Saturday, May 30.

Caps and stats are correct as of May 15.

Belgium players to watch at World Cup

Romelu Lukaku and Kevin De Bruyne had 260 international caps between them when the squad was named. Neither is certain to add to these as a starting player.

De Bruyne will be hopeful of playing a key role if his body holds up, having had his debut season at Napoli interrupted by a hamstring injury. Lukaku, meanwhile, saw his long alliance with head coach Antonio Conte has turned sour. The 33-year-old has only made seven substitute appearances for Napoli this season, tallying 69 minutes, and has been in Belgium for the past two months recovering from a hamstring injury.

«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,» Garcia said.

It means goals might be an issue, although Garcia will hope Manchester City winger Jeremy Doku can bring his blistering end-of-season form into the tournament. Atalanta’s Charles De Ketelaere has long been viewed as De Bruyne’s heir for Belgium and this would be the perfect time for a torch-passing moment.

MORE: Key details of Belgium’s schedule at the 2026 World Cup

Who is Belgium coach at the World Cup?

It shouldn’t be seen as disingenuous to suggest Rudi Garcia must interview well and have a good agent. His crowning glory as a coach, leading an Eden Hazard-inspired Lille to a Ligue 1 and Coupe de France double in 2010/11, is a good distance away in the rearview mirror at this point.

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A solid stint at Roma in the middle of the previous decade yielded a couple of distant second-place finishes behind Juventus.

Garcia is certainly a brave man, having coached bitter French rivals Marseille and Lyon one after the other. He led Marseille to the 2018 Europa League final, where they lost to Atletico Madrid, and took Lyon to the semifinals of the 2019/20 Champions League. 

Since then, his career has been a story of big opportunities not taken. Garcia was the man chosen to take over an Al Nassr side bolstered by Cristiano Ronaldo, among others, at the height of the Saudi Pro League boom, but he lasted less than a year in the job. In June 2023, he took over the Napoli side that Luciano Spalletti led to the Serie A championship the previous season. After 16 games in charge, winning only eight, he was dismissed. 

Garcia was appointed as Belgium boss to replace Domenico Tedesco in January 2025 and plotted an unbeaten path through qualification as UEFA Group J winners.

Can Belgium replace players on World Cup roster?

Once the final roster is official, participating teams at the World Cup could only make changes before the first game of the tournament, and only in the case of extraordinary circumstances.

According  (page 32), «a player listed on the final list may only be replaced in the event of serious injury or illness up until 24 hours before the start of his team’s first match.» The exception concerns goalkeepers, who can be replaced in such circumstances at any time.

Belgium World Cup history

Belgium competed at each of the first three World Cups between 1930 and 1938, playing four matches and losing all of them. There were also group-stage exits in 1954 and 1970, although the latter tournament at least yielded their first win on the big stage, 3-0 against El Salvador.

They beat the Central American nation once again in 1982 and also upset holders Argentina 1-0, thanks to Erwin Vandenbergh’s goal after the hour. That was the first of six consecutive tournament qualifications, and Belgium knocked out the Soviet Union and Spain en route to a fourth-place finish at Mexico 86, a Diego Maradona-inspired Argentina taking them down in the semifinals.

That was their best-ever performance until coming third in 2018, with the thrilling 2-1 quarterfinal victory over Brazil the highlight of Belgium’s tournament in Russia, as De Bruyne turned in a bravura performance.

• Current FIFA World Ranking: 9 (April 2026)
• World Cup titles: 0
• World Cup appearances (last): 14 (Qatar 2022)
• How Belgium qualified, W-L-D: UEFA Group J winners (5-0-3)
• World Cup record:
  • Games: 51 GP (21W, 10D, 20L)
  • Goal differential: -5 (69 GS, 74 GA)

Belgium World Cup schedule

Belgium, as a Pot 1 team, were drawn into Group G. Their competitors in the group will be Egypt, Iran, and New Zealand

Read more World Cup 2026 Group F draw: Match schedule and fixtures for Netherlands, Japan, Tunisia, Sweden

Group G fixtures

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