De Bruyne and Lukaku Make Belgium's 26 Despite Injuries; Lavia, Openda and Godts Cut
Rudi Garcia has named Belgium's final 26-man World Cup squad. Kevin De Bruyne (eye) and Romelu Lukaku (hip) are both included despite being currently sidelined at Napoli. Romeo Lavia, Lois Openda, Mika Godts and Arthur Vermeeren are the most notable omissions. Garcia becomes only the fourth non-Belgian to lead the national team at a World Cup.
B elgium head coach Rudi Garcia has named the final 26-man squad for the 2026 World Cup, with Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku both included despite being currently sidelined at Napoli with an eye injury and a hip injury respectively. Both players are on course for their third World Cup finals. Lukaku is Belgium's joint top scorer at the tournament with five, level with Marc Wilmots, and De Bruyne is the joint top assist provider with four, level with Eden Hazard.
It is Belgium's 15th World Cup appearance. No European nation has qualified for as many tournaments without ever winning the trophy. Garcia, appointed last year, is set to become only the fourth non-Belgian to lead the national team at a World Cup finals.
The notable omissions are headed by Chelsea midfielder Romeo Lavia, who has continued to struggle with injuries this season, and Juventus forward Lois Openda, who has only one goal in 24 Serie A appearances in 2025-26. Youngsters Mika Godts and Arthur Vermeeren also miss out, with Godts' record at Ajax of 17 goals and 12 assists in 31 Eredivisie games not enough to force his way into the group. The Premier League core is intact: Jeremy Doku, Leandro Trossard, Youri Tielemans and Amadou Onana all named.
In goal Garcia has chosen Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid, 107 caps), Manchester United's Senne Lammens and uncapped Strasbourg keeper Mike Penders. The defence is nine deep: Thomas Meunier (Lille), Timothy Castagne (Fulham), Arthur Theate (Frankfurt), Zeno Debast (Sporting CP), Maxim De Cuyper (Brighton), Brandon Mechele (Club Brugge), Koni De Winter (AC Milan), Joaquin Seys (Club Brugge) and Nathan Ngoy (Lille).
The midfield is built around Axel Witsel (Girona, 136 caps) and De Bruyne, with Youri Tielemans, Hans Vanaken, Charles De Ketelaere, Amadou Onana, Nicolas Raskin and Diego Moreira completing the eight. Up front Lukaku, who has 89 international goals in 124 caps, leads the line alongside Trossard, Doku, Dodi Lukebakio, Alexis Saelemaekers and uncapped Lille forward Matias Fernandez-Pardo.
Belgium will use the late May window to camp and assess De Bruyne and Lukaku's fitness ahead of the group stage. The Red Devils are in Group G of the 48-team finals alongside Iran, Egypt and New Zealand, and meet New Zealand on the closing matchday of the group on June 27 at the end of the All Whites' opening week. Garcia's task is to convert one of Europe's most-experienced cores plus its emerging attack into the first World Cup title in Belgian history.