Belgium coach Rudi Garcia has earlier managed Napoli, Roma, Marseille among other teams. | Photo Credit: REUTERS

Belgium will kick off its FIFA World Cup 2026 campaign against Egypt at the Seattle Stadium in Seattle, Washington on Monday, June 15, 2026.

The golden generation managed to finish third in the 2018 edition and head coach Rudi Garcia will hope the youngsters in the team can live up to those lofty standards.

Garcia has inherited a side between eras. His task is not only to get Belgium through the group, but also to make the older core and younger players fit into one structure. Managing Romelu Lukaku’s fitness and protecting an ageing spine will be central to Belgium’s tournament.

Rudi Garcia record as manager:

• Total matches: 921
• Wins: 447
• Draws: 250
• Losses: 224
• Win percentage: 48.53

Rudi Garcia record as Belgium manager:

• Total matches: 14
• Wins: 9
• Draws: 4
• Losses: 1
• Win percentage: 64.29

What did Rudi Garcia say ahead of the 2026 World Cup?

“We need to distinguish between our objective and our ambition. Our priority is to get through the group stage. Let’s come out on top so that we earn a more favourable draw and, ideally, stay put [in Seattle for the Round of 32]. That will be the objective!” Garcia told FIFA in an interview.

“We have a huge amount of respect for the other three sides in our group,” he stressed. “This is what the World Cup is all about. We know Egypt well; they’re one of the best teams in Africa. I know all about Mo Salah as I coached him at Roma. We’re also up against a team from Oceania and one from Asia. We’re obviously less familiar with them as we don’t see them play as often, but we’re looking forward to finding out what the Iranian and New Zealand teams are made of.”

Published on Jun 15, 2026