Belgium have named a 26-player squad for the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup, with veterans Kevin De Bruyne, Romelu Lukaku and Thibaut Courtois all selected for a fourth tournament.
Coach Rudi Garcia has retained much of Belgium’s experienced core, while also introducing several younger players, including Lille attacker Mathias Fernandez-Pardo and Saint-Etienne striker Lucas Stassin.
Main photo: Midfielder Kevin De Bruyne (34) has earned 117 caps for Belgium and helped Manchester City win six English Premier League titles before moving to Italy.
Lukaku (33) has scored 89 times in 124 games for his country, while goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois (34) has 107 caps.
Notable omissions include RB Leipzig forward Lois Openda, former Chelsea striker Michy Batshuayi and Ajax winger Mika Godts.
Garcia acknowledged concerns around Lukaku’s fitness after an injury-hit season with Napoli but defended his inclusion.
“Romelu has recovered, but he’s out of shape, and I’m not sure he’ll be able to start the matches,” Garcia said.
“But he’s our best striker, Belgium’s all-time leading scorer.”
Belgium have arranged warm-up matches against Croatia (June 3, NZT) in Rijeka, Croatia, and against Tunisia (June 7, NZT) in Brussels, Belgium.
Belgium squad
Player/club
Goalkeepers
Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid, Spain)
Mats Sels (Nottingham Forest, England)
Senne Lammens (Royal Antwerp, Belgium)
Defenders
Arthur Theate (Eintracht Frankfurt, Germany)
Brandon Mechele (Club Brugge, Belgium)
Nathan Ngoy (Luton Town, England)
Koni De Winter (Genoa, Italy)
Zeno Debast (Sporting CP, Portugal)
Maxime De Cuyper (Club Brugge, Belgium)
Joaquin Seys (Club Brugge, Belgium)
Thomas Meunier (Trabzonspor, Turkiye)
Timothy Castagne (Fulham, England)
Midfielders
Nicolas Raskin (Rangers, Scotland)
Axel Witsel (Atletico Madrid, Spain)
Hans Vanaken (Club Brugge, Belgium)
Kevin De Bruyne (Napoli, Italy)
Youri Tielemans (Aston Villa, England)
Amadou Onana (Aston Villa, England)
Forwards
Jeremy Doku (Manchester City, England)
Alexis Saelemaekers (AC Milan, Italy)
Mathias Fernandez-Pardo (Lille, France)
Lucas Stassin (Saint-Etienne, France)
Romelu Lukaku (Napoli, Italy)
Leandro Trossard (Arsenal, England)
Charles De Ketelaere (Atalanta, Italy)
Dodi Lukebakio (Sevilla, Spain)
Fixtures
World Cup warm-ups
Game to be played on Wednesday June 3, 2026 (NZT)
New Zealand v Haiti
Chase Stadium, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, kick-off time 12pm (NZT)
Game to be played on Sunday June 7, 2026 (NZT)
New Zealand v England
Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Florida, kick-off time 8am (NZT)
FIFA Men’s World Cup
Game to be played on Tuesday June 16, 2026 (NZT)
Iran v New Zealand
SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, Los Angeles, 1pm (NZT)
Game to be played on Monday June 22, 2026 (NZT)
Egypt v New Zealand
BC Place, Vancouver, 1pm (NZT)
Game to be played on Saturday June 27, 2026 (NZT)
Belgium v New Zealand
BC Place, Vancouver, 3pm (NZT)
The 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup draw
DOWNLOAD: Here’s the match schedule for the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup as a PDF >>>>
This story was first published on May 18, 2026.