Meunier backs Belgium’s 2026 reset with new-club generation
Thomas Meunier backed Belgium’s meunier-era transition with a blunt assessment of the squad’s level, saying there is “beaucoup de qualités” and that the new arrivals now play in major clubs. The veteran defender’s remarks land as Belgium turns the page on its golden generation and prepares for the 2026 World Cup with a younger core.
Meunier and the new core
“Collectivement et individuellement, il y a beaucoup de qualités,” Meunier said. “Les nouveaux venus jouent désormais dans de grands clubs.” He is one of the last survivors of Belgium’s 2018 run in Russia, when the team finished third, and he is speaking from inside a squad that no longer looks like the one that once set the standard for the country.
Belgium began this new chapter in January 2025 under Rudi Garcia. That timing matters because the team is not just changing coaches; it is trying to change identity before the 2026 tournament, with experience still in the room and younger names moving into larger roles.
Garcia’s squad balance
Kevin De Bruyne, Romelu Lukaku and Thibaut Courtois remain the last major symbols of Belgium’s golden generation, but the support cast is shifting. Jérémy Doku is 24 years old, while Matias Fernandez-Pardo is 21, and both sit closer to the future than the past. Senne Lammens, also 24, is the backup goalkeeper from Manchester United, another sign that the squad’s profile has widened beyond the old core.
Garcia has already put a limit on expectation around Lukaku. The striker has scored 89 goals in 124 appearances for Belgium, but he had played only 64 minutes in 2026 before arriving in the United States. Garcia said it is not realistic to say Lukaku will start against Egypt, and that creates a practical selection issue at the center of Belgium’s attack.
Russia, Qatar, Euro 2024
Belgium’s recent tournament record gives Meunier’s optimism a harder edge. The team reached third place in 2018, then went out in the group stage at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar before exiting the round of 16 at Euro 2024. Three major events, three very different outcomes, and enough evidence to show why the new cycle cannot rely on reputation alone.
That is where Meunier’s point becomes the most useful reading of Belgium’s position: the talent pool is deeper than the results of the last two tournaments suggest, but the lineup still has to prove it can turn new-club pedigree into something more coherent. For readers tracking Belgium’s World Cup build-up, the next decision that matters most is Garcia’s first-choice attack, because Lukaku’s minutes and the younger players’ rise will shape how far this reset can go.
