Belgium announce squad for March international break; Thibaut Courtois returns

The Red Devils will face Ukraine in the Nations League.

After arguing with former coach Domenico Tedesco about captaincy, Thibaut Courtois left the Belgium camp in June 2023 and refused to play for his nation.

But when Tedesco was fired in January, the Real Madrid goalkeeper stated he was amenable to a comeback, and the new manager, Frank Garcia, didn’t take any time in calling him up.

He might play in next week’s two-leg UEFA Nations League match between Belgium and Ukraine. Next week, Murcia will host the first leg on neutral territory, while Genk will host the rematch.

When asked if Courtois was asked to apologise to his teammates before returning, Garcia said: “We’re starting with a blank slate.

“I won’t see the players until Monday, but we’ll talk to the leaders again about what happened. But after that, I’m not going to keep dwelling on what happened years ago. Otherwise, we won’t make any progress.”

Garcia also declined to reveal who his captain would be, stating that Courtois, Kevin De Bruyne of Manchester City, and Romelu Lukaku of Napoli were all contenders.

Garcia further revealed how he is planning to resolve the captaincy issue as he added, “I have an idea in my head about that. Kevin (de Bruyne), Romelu (Lukaku) and Thibaut are definitely candidates. We will see next week who the leaders are.”

Belgium announce squad for March international break

Goalkeepers: Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid), Senne Lammens (Antwerp), Matz Sels (Nottingham Forest), Maarten Vandevoordt (RB Leipzig);

Defenders: Timothy Castagne (Fulham), Zeno Debast (Sporting CP), De Cuyper (Club Brugge), Koni De Winter (Genoa), Wout Faes (Leicester City), Brandon Mechele (Club Brugge), Thomas Meunier (Lille), Arthur Theate (Eintracht Frankfurt)

Midfielders: Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City), Bryan Heynen (Genk), Jorthy Mokio (Ajax), Nicolas Raskin (Rangers), Youri Tielemans (Aston Villa), Hans Vanaken (Club Brugge)

Forwards: Charles De Ketelaere (Atalanta), Jeremy Doku (Manchester City), Malick Fofana (Lyon), Romelu Lukaku (Napoli), Dodi Lukebakio (Sevilla), Lois Openda (RB Leipzig), Alexis Saelemaekers (Roma), Leandro Trossard (Arsenal).

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