Official! Injured Sporting player called up for the World Cup | OneFootball

It’s official. The Belgium national team has announced its squad for the 2026 World Cup, with Zeno Debast, Sporting defender, among the standout call-ups, in a selection made by Rudi Garcia. The centre-back’s inclusion comes despite a recent spell marked by physical problems.

The 22-year-old missed the green-and-white side’s last match due to injury and even travelled to his home country to undergo medical tests to determine whether he would be fit for the World Cup, and the manager’s answer was yes.

At the press conference, Rudi Garcia explained his choices: "It was necessary to continue with a group that has performed for the national team, but it was also important to call up those who have performed for their clubs. It was necessary to take into account the group’s complementarity. The balance between experience and youth. The balance between positions," he said. Belgium are in Group G and will face Iran, Egypt and New Zealand.

This season, Zeno Debast - valued at €30 million - has made 24 official appearances in a Sporting shirt. So far, the Belgium international has played 1,506 minutes, with two assists to his name.

Called up: Goalkeepers: Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid), Senne Lammens (Manchester United) and Mike Penders (Strasbourg); Defenders: Thomas Meunier (Lille), Timothy Castagne (Fulham), Zeno Debast (Sporting), Koni De Winter (Milan), Arthur Theate (Eintracht Frankfurt), Brandon Mechele (Club Brugge), Nathan Ngoy (Lille), Maxim De Cuyper (Brighton) and Joaquin Seys (Club Brugge); Midfielders: Amadou Onana (Aston Villa), Youri Tielemans (Aston Villa), Axel Witsel (Girona), Hans Vanaken (Club Brugge), Nicolas Raskin (Rangers) and Kevin De Bruyne (Napoli); Forwards: Jérémy Doku (Manchester City), Leandro Trossard (Arsenal), Dodi Lukebakio (Benfica), Diego Moreira (Strasbourg), Alexis Saelemaekers (Milan), Charles De Ketelaere (Atalanta), Matías Fernández-Pardo (Lille) and Romelu Lukaku (Napoli).

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.