Head coach Domenico Tedesco has named a 25-man Belgium EURO 2024 squad, with the tournament kicking off in Germany on June 14th. Manchester City’s Kevin de Bruyne and Jeremy Doku are among the players named, as are Roma’s Romelu Lukaku and Arsenal’s Leandro Trossard. However, in a surprising turn Real Madrid custodian Thibaut Courtois has not been called up. While, Belgium’s most-capped player, Jan Vertonghen also finds himself included in the squad.
Why is Thibaut Courtois absent from Belgium EURO 2024 Squad
The Real Madrid custodian has only recently returned to full health after missing most of the season due to a pair of knee injuries and an ACL. The decision to omit Courtois was somewhat foreseeable, given the ongoing tension between him and manager Domenico Tedesco since June 2018 when he was not chosen to lead the team for games against Austria and Estonia.
Their dispute reached a fever pitch in March, when Tedesco announced that Courtois would not be picked for the Euros, despite his best efforts to reconcile with the custodian. The Real Madrid custodian replied to the Belgian manager’s statements on X with the ‘liar’ emoji.
Belgium EURO 2024 Squad
Goalkeeper: Koen Casteels, Thomas Kaminski, Matz Sels
Defenders: Timothy Castagne, Zeno Debast, Maxim De Cuyper, Wout Faes, Thomas Meunier, Arthur Theate, Jan Vertonghen
Midfielders: Kevin De Bruyne, Orel Mangala, Amadou Onana, Youri Tielemans, Arthur Vermeeren, Aster Vranckx, Axel Witsel
Forwards: Johan Bakayoko, Yannick Carrasco, Charles De Ketelaere, Jeremy Doku, Romelu Lukaku, Dodi Lukebakio, Lois Openda, Leandro Trossard
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Belgium aim for a better finish in EURO 2024
Belgium finds themselves placed in Group E alongside Ukraine, Slovakia, and Romania. Their campaign begins against Slovakia on June 17, followed by matches against Romania on June 22 and Ukraine on June 26 in Stuttgart.
Reflecting on their previous Euro campaign, Belgium aims to improve upon their quarter-final exit against Italy. Players are set to report next Friday, gearing up for warm-up fixtures against Montenegro on June 5 and Luxembourg on June 8 in Brussels.
