All Whites vs Belgium | Sat 27th June | 3:00pm (NZT) | BC Place, Vancouver

Saffa wrote:
I see a big, big problem in the above squad......no cultural architects lol

coochiee wrote:
Ben Old with a St Etienne team mate in the Belgian squad. Stassin apparently on the radar of Brentford among others.

Wood's Forest team mate Mat Sels also in there.

https://www.friendsoffootballnz.com/2026/05/18/belgium-include-big-names-in-fifa-mens-world-cup-squad-to-face-all-whites/

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.

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.
 
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)