Belgium. The pre-tournament read.

Belgium arrive at the 2026 World Cup with most of the same names that disappointed in 2022 and disappointed again at Euro 2024, plus a new manager hired explicitly to find a way to use Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku in their thirties. The midfield around the senior pair is the rebuild — Tielemans, Onana, the rapidly emerging younger spine — and Doku-Openda is the wide-attacking pair that genuinely makes the team modern. Group G is winnable: Egypt is the seeded test, Iran the experienced pot-2 piece, New Zealand the pot-4 outsider. The tournament turns on whether the Golden Generation's final tournament resembles 2018 (its high point) or 2022 (its collapse) — and on whether Garcia, who has never managed at a major international tournament before, is the kind of manager who tightens a knockout match or one who lets it run loose.

AGENT-AUTHOREDAgent-authored tournament read. Treat the framing and group outlook as editorial judgement; sourced facts are separated below.

Top three starsGROUNDED

Napoli · Attacking midfield
Kevin De Bruyne
Captain, talisman, and now a Napoli player after ten years at Manchester City. Moved on a free in summer 2025; the 2026 World Cup is his fourth (2014, 2018, 2022, 2026) and at 34 almost certainly his last.
Manchester City · Left wing
Jérémy Doku
The Golden Generation's successor in the wide spaces. Direct, two-footed, the kind of one-on-one threat Belgium has not produced regularly since Eden Hazard in his prime.
Napoli · Centre-forward
Romelu Lukaku
All-time Belgium top scorer and now a Napoli teammate of De Bruyne after his 2024 move from Chelsea. The number 9 every Belgium tactic since 2018 has been arranged around.

Qualifying scorer sketchAGENT-AUTHORED

Agent-authored figures · needs verification before match-use.

01 Romelu Lukaku · Napoli8 g · 9 of 10
02 Loïs Openda · RB Leipzig5 g · 8 of 10
03 Kevin De Bruyne · Napoli4 g · 9 of 10

Road to 2026GROUNDED

1 JUL 2024
Lost 1-0 to France in the Euro 2024 round of 16
Düsseldorf. Vertonghen's own goal. Belgium did not have a shot on target. The result that triggered the eighteen-month conversation about whether the Golden Generation should still be picked together.
21 JAN 2025
Domenico Tedesco sacked; Rudi Garcia appointed the same week
Tedesco's contract was paid out after the November 2024 Nations League run. Garcia — ex-Lille, Roma, Lyon, Marseille, Napoli — became the second consecutive non-Belgian to take the job.
9 JUN 2025
Kevin De Bruyne signs for Napoli on a free transfer
Left Manchester City after ten years and a record-tying six Premier League titles. Joined Lukaku at the Italian champion. The 2026 World Cup is his fourth tournament with these two as the load-bearing pair.
15 NOV 2025
Belgium 3-0 Wales — qualification confirmed
Lukaku brace, De Bruyne assist hat-trick, Doku tormenting the Welsh right flank. The version of Belgium Garcia was hired to assemble, assembled.
5 DEC 2025
Drawn into Group G with Egypt, Iran, New Zealand
Egypt — Salah at 34 — is the seeded test. Iran are the experienced pot-2 piece. New Zealand the pot-4 underdog. None of the three is a credible knockout threat to a focused Belgium.

Did you knowGROUNDED

Belgium's "Golden Generation" reached the World Cup semi-final at Russia 2018 — third place after a 1-0 loss to France. It remains the country's best finish at a senior major tournament.
Belgium were eliminated in the group stage at Qatar 2022 — the result that ended the Golden Generation's tournament cycle and triggered Roberto Martínez's departure to Portugal.
Kevin De Bruyne joined Napoli from Manchester City on a free transfer in summer 2025. At 34, the 2026 World Cup is his fourth (2014, 2018, 2022, 2026) and almost certainly his last as a starter.
Belgium have appeared at fourteen World Cups. Their best finishes are third place at Russia 2018 (the Golden Generation team) and fourth place at Mexico 1986 (the Enzo Scifo team eliminated in the semi-final by Diego Maradona's Argentina).

Manager + squad

In charge since 1 JAN 2025

Rudi Garcia

Hired explicitly because the federation could not find a way to use Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku in their thirties under Domenico Tedesco. Possession-tilted, narrow front three, two creators between the lines — the system designed around the two senior names and whoever else fits the shape.

Squad status

Provisional squad announced — final cuts pending

The rest of Group G

Egypt
Iran
New Zealand

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