Belgium at the World Cup 2026: Squad, fixtures, group and history

Belgium were appearing in their 15th finals after qualifying for the FIFA World Cup 2026. Rudi Garcia's side, led by captain Youri Tielemans, topped Group G ahead of Egypt, IR Iran and New Zealand to reach the knockout phase. They then beat Senegal in dramatic fashion in the round of 32 before a comprehensive victory over the United States in the last 16 but were beaten by Spain in the quarter-finals.

Below you will find everything you need to know about Belgium at the 2026 World Cup: their fixtures, squad, qualifying record, key players, coach and tournament history.

Belgium at the World Cup 2026: At a glance

Coach: Rudi Garcia
Captain: Youri Tielemans
World Cup appearances: 15
Best finish: Third place (2018)

Belgium's World Cup matches

Group G: Winners

15 June: Belgium 1-1 Egypt (Seattle)
21 June: Belgium 0-0 IR Iran (Los Angeles)
27 June: New Zealand 1-5 Belgium (Vancouver)

Knockout stage

1 July – round of 32: Belgium 3-2 Senegal, aet (Seattle)
7 July – round of 16: USA 1-4 Belgium (Seattle)
10 July – quarter-finals: Spain 2-1 Belgium (Los Angeles)

Belgium's World Cup squad

Fresh from winning the UEFA Europa League with Aston Villa, captain Youri Tielemans led a 26-man Belgian World Cup squad bursting with experienced talent. Among the squad members were Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, Napoli's midfield wizard Kevin De Bruyne and Arsenal's Leandro Trossard, who assisted five goals and scored one during the Gunners' run to the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League final.

How Belgium qualified for the World Cup

First place in Group J: W5 D3 L0 F29 A7

North Macedonia 1-1 Belgium
Belgium 4-3 Wales
Liechtenstein 0-6 Belgium
Belgium 6-0 Kazakhstan
Belgium 0-0 North Macedonia
Wales 2-4 Belgium
Kazakhstan 1-1 Belgium
Belgium 7-0 Liechtenstein

Top scorer: Kevin De Bruyne (6 goals)

Belgium coach: Rudi Garcia

A Frenchman with a Spanish father who was named in honour of a German cyclist (Rudi Altig), Rudi Garcia took charge of Belgium in January 2025. His coaching reputation soared after he led Lille (who he once represented as a midfielder) to the 2010/11 French title, and he subsequently took charge of Roma, Marseille, Lyon, Al-Nassr and Napoli.

Belgium captain: Youri Tielemans

Still only 29, versatile midfielder Youri Tielemans has been a Belgium regular for a decade, but was made captain by Rudi Garcia in September 2025. A product of the Anderlecht academy, he won two Belgian titles with the club before leaving for Monaco and then Leicester. He joined Aston Villa in 2023, and won his first European title this spring, scoring the opener in his side's 3-0 UEFA Europa League final win against Freiburg.

Belgium's World Cup history 

Most appearances: Thibaut Courtois (21)
Top scorer: Romelu Lukaku (8)
Best performance: Third place (2018)
World Cup 2022: Group stage

The Red Devils were appearing at their 15th World Cup and improved on their group stage exit at the 2022 finals in Qatar. They have twice lost out to the eventual winners in the semi-finals, succumbing to Argentina in 1986 and France in 2018, beating England for the bronze medal in the latter tournament.

Belgium's UEFA Nations League fixtures: Group A1

25 September: Italy vs Belgium (20:45)
28 September: Belgium vs France (20:45)
2 October: Belgium vs Türki̇ye (20:45)
5 October: France vs Belgium (20:45)
12 November: Türki̇ye vs Belgium (18:00)
15 November: Belgium vs Italy (20:45)

All times CET.