Romelu Lukaku has been named in Belgium's World Cup squad, despite manager Rudi Garcia expressing doubts about his fitness. The 33-year-old Napoli striker has only made seven substitute appearances, totaling 69 minutes, in the 2025-26 season while recovering from a hamstring injury for the past two months.

Lukaku is Belgium's all-time leading scorer with 89 goals from 124 caps, with his most recent international appearance coming against Wales last June. "Romelu has recovered, but he's out of shape, and I'm not sure he'll be able to start the matches. But he's our best striker, Belgium's all-time leading scorer," said Garcia.

The manager added, "We have five weeks to get him back to full fitness so that little by little he can help the team." Lukaku has the chance to play in his fourth successive World Cup, along with Thibaut Courtois, Kevin de Bruyne, and Axel Witsel.

Garcia has also included Lille’s Matias Fernandez-Pardo as cover after he pledged his international allegiance to Belgium this week. The 21-year-old forward, who was born in Brussels to Italian and Spanish parents, played for Belgium at junior level but switched his allegiance to Spain in 2025 without making an appearance. Fernandez-Pardo was chosen over Lois Openda, who has not played regularly for Juventus this season. Sporting defender Zeno Debast has also been included despite an injury in training.

Belgium will play Egypt, Iran, and New Zealand in Group G, with their games being held in the United States and Canada.