Jérémy Doku is out for Belgium’s World Cup match against Iran, a change that lands just before Iran vs Egypt coverage turns to Group G’s second round of games. Belgium will play Sunday at 3 p.m. ET on FS1 without one of its most direct attackers.
The winger was ruled out on Saturday because of a respiratory infection. Rudi Garcia did not say how long he expects Doku to be absent, so Belgium has to set its lineup for this match without a fixed return point for one of its most useful runners in behind.
Belgium and Egypt
Belgium opened with a 1-1 draw against Egypt and sits on 1 point after Matchday 1 in Group G. Romelu Lukaku scored Belgium’s only goal against Egypt 25 seconds after coming on, but the team still left that match with only a single point.
Doku was not a peripheral figure in that draw. He finished with 3 successful dribbles, 8 duels won, 6 touches in the opposition’s box and 21 run-ins behind Egypt’s backline, which shows how much of Belgium’s width and direct threat ran through him even before this latest setback.
Rudi Garcia and Group G
Belgium entered the Iran match as a significant favorite, yet the absence of Doku changes the way that edge is built. A side that already needed Lukaku to rescue a point against Egypt now has to create more without the winger who kept stretching defenses and forcing recovery runs.
Reports said Doku had been dealing with respiratory issues for weeks, and there was also discussion of a possible departure from the US to attend the birth of his first child, due in the second week of July. For Belgium, the immediate issue is simpler: it has to replace the player who gave its attack the most pace and separation against Egypt and do it in a match that can shape Group G.
Belgium’s lineup against Iran will tell the story. If the attack stays flat without Doku, Garcia will have to find width and penetration from somewhere else while Belgium tries to turn one point from Matchday 1 into a result that keeps its World Cup position moving forward.
