Red Devils World Cup squad: Fernandez-Pardo included, Openda left out
Belgium’s national team manager Rudi Garcia has announced his 26-man squad for next month’s World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico. He has left out Juventus forward Loïs Openda and Nottingham Forest goalkeeper Matz Sels. Lille striker Matias Fernandez-Pardo, who only recently made a definitive choice to play for Belgium – rather than Spain – is included.
On Friday afternoon, national team manager Rudi Garcia announced his squad for this summer’s World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico at the headquarters of the Royal Belgian Football Association in Tubize. After this, changes can only be made in the event of illness or injury, up to 24 hours before the kick-off of the first World Cup match. This could prove interesting, as there are still some question marks over certain names in the Belgian squad.
Up front, Matias Fernandez-Pardo of Lille is included, as expected. However, for a long time, it seemed that the Brussels-born striker would never play for the Red Devils. In February last year, he changed his preferred nationality to Spanish. But the Brussels-born striker, who has been in fine form for his French club in recent months, announced earlier this week that he had reversed this decision and definitively opted for the Belgian national team.
Striker Loïs Openda, on the other hand, has been dropped due to a lack of playing time at Juventus. He has also never managed to impress for the national team. The other selected forwards are Romelu Lukaku (Napoli), Charles De Ketelaere (Atalanta), Jérémy Doku (Manchester City), Leandro Trossard (Arsenal), Dodi Lukebakio (Benfica), Alexis Saelemaekers (AC Milan) and Diego Moreira (Racing Strasbourg).
As for the goalkeepers, the omission of Matz Sels comes as something of a surprise. The keeper started in three of the eight matches during the World Cup qualifying campaign and also played the full 90 minutes in the Red Devils’ final friendly, on 1 April in Mexico. Mike Penders of Racing Strasbourg joins the squad as third-choice goalkeeper, alongside Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid) and Senne Lammens (Manchester United).
Among the defenders, the youngsters Nathan Ngoy of Lille and Koni De Winter of AC Milan stand out. Zeno Debast of Sporting CP is also included, despite an injury. The other selected defenders are Thomas Meunier (Lille), Timothy Castagne (Fulham), Brandon Mechele (Club Brugge), Arthur Theate (Eintracht Frankfurt), Maxim De Cuyper (Brighton) and Joaquin Seys (Club Brugge).
In midfield, key player Kevin De Bruyne (Napoli) is naturally selected again. Amadou Onana (Aston Villa), Nicolas Raskin (Rangers), captain Youri Tielemans (Aston Villa), Hans Vanaken (Club Brugge) and Axel Witsel (Girona) are the other expected names. For Witsel, this will be his fourth World Cup.
Apart from Openda and Sels, the national coach’s selection is also a disappointment for Nathan De Cat (Anderlecht), Mika Godts (Ajax), Malick Fofana (Olympique Lyon), Roméo Lavia (Chelsea), Charles Vanhoutte (Nice), Romeo Vermant (Club Brugge), Hugo Cuypers (Chicago Fire) and Lucas Stassin (Saint-Etienne). They too will not be travelling to the World Cup.
The Red Devils will play friendly matches against Croatia and Tunisia in the coming weeks. They will then fly to Seattle in the United States to put the finishing touches to their preparations for the World Cup opener against Egypt. In their other two group matches, the Belgians will face Iran and New Zealand.
Head coach Rudi Garcia of Belgium’s football team unveils his squad for the World Cup 2026 © PHOTO JOHN THYS / AFP
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