Belgium coach Rudi Garcia added three new players to the squad for World Cup qualifiers against Kazakhstan and Liechtenstein next week.
Midfielder Charles Vanhoutte joins the team after his strong play helped Union St Gilloise win the Belgian title last season, stepping in for the injured Amadou Onana. Club Brugge defender Joaquin Seys returns after missing the previous call-up due to injury.
Goalkeeper Mike Penders, on loan from Chelsea to Racing Strasbourg, receives his first national team call-up.
Belgium currently sits third in Group J, with four points from two matches, trailing North Macedonia (eight points) and Wales (seven points). Belgium will play Liechtenstein in Vaduz next Thursday and host Kazakhstan in Brussels on September 7.
Kazakhstan has three points, while Liechtenstein is at the bottom of the group without any points, both having played three matches.
Fulham’s Timothy Castagne is back from injury, and Eintracht Frankfurt’s Michy Batshuayi has been recalled to bolster the attack due to the injury of Romelu Lukaku, Belgium’s all-time leading scorer.
Garcia indicated that Lukaku might miss the next six international fixtures leading up to November, stating, “We’ll need to qualify for the World Cup without Lukaku. We must prove we can score goals even without him.”
SQUAD
Goalkeepers: Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid), Mike Penders (Racing Strasbourg), Matz Sels (Nottingham Forest), Maarten Vandevoort (RB Leipzig).
Defenders: Timothy Castagne (Fulham), Zeno Debast (Sporting), Maxim De Cuyper (Brighton), Koni De Winter (AC Milan), Brandon Mechele (Club Brugge), Thomas Meunier (Lille), Arthur Theate (Eintracht Frankfurt), Joaquin Seys (Club Brugge).
Midfielders: Kevin De Bruyne (Napoli), Nicolas Raskin (Rangers), Youri Tielemans (Aston Villa), Hans Vanaken (Club Brugge), Charles Vanhoutte (Union St Gilloise).
Forwards: Michy Batshuayi (Eintracht Frankfurt), Charles De Ketelaere (Atalanta), Jeremy Doku (Manchester City), Malick Fofana (Olympique Lyonnais), Lois Openda (RB Leipzig), Alexis Saelemaekers (AC Milan), Leandro Trossard (Arsenal), Diego Moreira (Racing Strasbourg).
Published on Aug 29, 2025
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