After the Golden Generation

Belgium's Golden Generation — Hazard, De Bruyne, Lukaku, Courtois, Mertens, Witsel — peaked at the 2018 World Cup where they finished third. By 2022 they exited in the group stage. Hazard is retired. Lukaku is 31 and declining. Mertens and Witsel are gone. What Domenico Tedesco is building is different: a transition team that still has Kevin De Bruyne at its core but is building around younger talents.

De Bruyne — Still the Key

Kevin De Bruyne at 35 is still one of the best midfielders in the world. His vision, his passing range, his ability to change the tempo of a match in a single moment — all of it still intact. Belgium's attacking play flows through him. When De Bruyne is on the ball in space, Belgium are genuinely dangerous against any opponent. The question for this tournament is how much running he can do for 90 minutes across seven potential matches in summer heat.

Group K — Canada, Cameroon, Honduras

Group K pits Belgium against Canada (co-hosts), Cameroon, and Honduras. Canada is the most interesting opponent — as co-hosts with strong Premier League representation (Alphonso Davies, Jonathan David), they have genuine momentum and home crowd energy. Belgium should be group favorites but cannot take Canada lightly. The Belgian expat community in New York is spread across professional circles in Manhattan and will be watching at soccer bars for every match.

Goalkeepers

• Thibaut Courtois — Real Madrid
• Maarten Vandevoordt — RB Leipzig
• Matz Sels — Nottingham Forest

Defenders

• Timothy Castagne — Fulham
• Thomas Meunier — Trabzonspor
• Wout Faes — Leicester City
• Zeno Debast — Sporting CP
• Arthur Theate — Rennes
• Brandon Mechele — Club Brugge

Midfielders

• Kevin De Bruyne — Napoli
• Youri Tielemans — Aston Villa (captain)
• Amadou Onana — Aston Villa
• Axel Witsel — Atlético Madrid
• Nicolas Raskin — Rangers
• Hans Vanaken — Club Brugge
• Alexis Saelemaekers — AC Milan

Forwards

• Romelu Lukaku — Napoli
• Jérémy Doku — Napoli
• Leandro Trossard — Arsenal
• Charles De Ketelaere — Atalanta
• Dodi Lukebakio — Sevilla
• Mathias Fernandez-Pardo — Lille
• Lucas Stassin — Saint-Étienne

Squad confirmed by head coach Rudi Garcia (appointed January 2025). Key note: De Bruyne moved from Napoli to Napoli; Lukaku also at Napoli despite a season of injury. Captain is Youri Tielemans, not De Bruyne.