BEL
FIFA WORLD CUP 2026 · GROUP G · POT 1

Belgium
World Cup 26-man squad

Manager Rudi Garcia · French coach appointed in 2025. Experienced at Roma, Marseille, Lille and Lyon — first World Cup as Belgium's head coach.
MD1 Jun 15 vs Egypt MD2 Jun 21 vs Iran MD3 Jun 26 vs New Zealand
14th World Cup appearance · best finish: Third place (2018)
26
Squad size
27.1
Avg. age
23 / 26
Overseas-based
13 / 13
WC veterans / Debutants
TEAM STORY

Belgium is transitioning beyond Roberto Martinez's 'golden generation'. New head coach Rudi Garcia, appointed in 2025, has blended legends Kevin De Bruyne, Romelu Lukaku and Thibaut Courtois with next-gen talents Jeremy Doku, Zeno Debast and Koni De Winter — the 26-man squad was announced on May 15.

Captain Youri Tielemans and Amadou Onana form the midfield pivot, with De Bruyne free to roam as a No.10 in Garcia's 4-2-3-1. Seven players from the Premier League and five from Serie A bring deep international experience, with the De Bruyne + Lukaku axis complemented by Doku and Trossard's wing threat.

Group G opponents are Egypt, Iran and New Zealand. Win the opener against Egypt (June 15, Seattle) and the knockouts come into view — Belgium aims for their first deep run since the 2018 third-place finish in Russia.

PREDICTED XI

LIKELY 4-2-3-1.

Garcia's preferred 4-2-3-1. Tielemans and Onana form a double pivot that frees De Bruyne to operate in the No.10 role.

4-2-3-1 (predicted)
KEY PLAYERS

KEY PLAYERS.

The five players who set the tone in the group stage — by role and trait.

8
CM · MF
Youri Tielemans
Aston Villa · 29 · Premier League
84 caps · 13G WC: 2018, 2022
Captain & midfield orchestrator
CAPTAIN
7
CAM · MF
Kevin De Bruyne
Napoli · 34 · Serie A
119 caps · 37G WC: 2014, 2018, 2022
Creative hub & all-time great playmaker
ACE
9
ST · FW
Romelu Lukaku
Napoli · 33 · Serie A
126 caps · 90G WC: 2014, 2018, 2022
All-time top scorer & focal point
1
GK · GK
Thibaut Courtois
Real Madrid · 34 · La Liga
109 caps · 0G WC: 2014, 2018, 2022
World-class goalkeeper
11
LW · FW
Jérémy Doku
Manchester City · 24 · Premier League
42 caps · 7G WC: 2022
Left-wing dynamo
SQUAD

SQUAD 26.

GK GOALKEEPERS 3
DF DEFENDERS 9
MF MIDFIELDERS 6
FW FORWARDS 8
GROUP G

GROUP G.

BEL
Belgium
POT 1
EGY
Egypt
POT 2
IRN
Iran
POT 3
NZL
New Zealand
POT 4
Mon, Jun 15
Egypt vs Belgium
Lumen Field · Seattle
Group G opener. Containing Egypt's Salah-led counter-attacks will fall on the young Theate/Debast pairing.
View lineups →
MD1
Sun, Jun 21
Iran vs Belgium
SoFi Stadium · Inglewood, CA
Cracking Iran's deep block will require De Bruyne and Tielemans' creativity, with Doku and Trossard stretching the wings.
View lineups →
MD2
Fri, Jun 26
New Zealand vs Belgium
BC Place · Vancouver
Group decider. Wary of New Zealand's set-piece threat and physicality, with squad rotation likely.
View lineups →
MD3

Road to the final

Spoiler-free: the potential bracket route by final group position. No results shown.

Win Group G
  1. Round of 32 Jul 01 · Seattle vs 3rd place (A/E/H/I/J)
  2. Round of 16 Jul 06 · Seattle vs Winner of Match 81
  3. Quarter-finals Jul 10 · Inglewood vs Winner of Match 93
  4. Semi-finals Jul 14 · Arlington vs Winner of Match 97
  5. Final Jul 19 · East Rutherford vs Winner of Match 102
Runners-up, Group G
  1. Round of 32 Jul 03 · Arlington vs Runners-up Group D
  2. Round of 16 Jul 07 · Atlanta vs Winner of Match 86
  3. Quarter-finals Jul 11 · Kansas City vs Winner of Match 96
  4. Semi-finals Jul 15 · Atlanta vs Winner of Match 99
  5. Final Jul 19 · East Rutherford vs Winner of Match 101
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