Belgium at the 2026 World Cup

The Golden Generation is gone. Vincent Kompany has retired into coaching. Eden Hazard hung up the boots in 2023. Axel Witsel and Jan Vertonghen are past 35 and on the fringe. Only Kevin De Bruyne, at 34, remains from the squad that finished third at Russia 2018 — the peak moment of Belgian football, a generation that produced four consecutive top-ten FIFA rankings and never quite translated it into a final.

2026 is the rebuild in motion. Domenico Tedesco was replaced in 2024; Rudi Garcia now leads a squad mixing the remnants of 2018 with a younger Belgian core. Jérémy Doku is the attacking headline — an elite winger at Manchester City whose 1v1 ability resembles prime Eden Hazard. Romelu Lukaku, at 32, remains the country's all-time top scorer and is still the first-choice number nine. Youri Tielemans and Amadou Onana anchor a midfield that lost experience but gained athleticism. Thibaut Courtois, one of the world's best goalkeepers, is the thread connecting the two eras.

Qualifying was solid rather than spectacular — second in their UEFA group behind Spain, six wins, three draws. Belgium's fall from ELO elite to ELO 1890 (still top-ten) reflects the rebuild but not a collapse. The Nations League 2024 quarter-final loss to France was painful — a 0-0 through 120 minutes, penalties lost — but it was also the moment Garcia finally saw what this squad needs: better tempo, more structure in the final third, less reliance on De Bruyne to solve everything.

Group G draws Belgium with Egypt, Iran and New Zealand. Egypt (Mohamed Salah's last World Cup) is the test that matters; Iran brings physicality; New Zealand is the breather. Belgium should comfortably top the group. The real question begins in the Round of 32, where a bracket scenario sending them toward Germany or Portugal is the worst-case, and toward a third-place qualifier is the best. For Belgian fans, the expectation has been recalibrated from "this is our tournament" to "can we make a quarter-final and start the next generation." On current form, both are achievable.

Garcia runs a 4-3-3 that frequently morphs into a 4-2-3-1 to give De Bruyne a free eight role behind Lukaku. Onana and Tielemans are the deeper pair; Doku provides direct running on the left. The identity is more vertical than Belgium's 2018 possession game — faster transitions, less patient build-up, more emphasis on Doku and Lukaku combinations. Strengths: Courtois in goal, De Bruyne's generational creativity when fit, and a newly energetic front line with Doku. Weaknesses: the defense has lost too much experience in a short time — Koen Casteels and Wout Faes are solid, but no longer world-class on paper — and the midfield can be overrun by elite opposition if Onana is asked to cover too much ground. Depth in the second striker role is also a question mark.