Romelu Lukaku to Miss Belgium's United States World Cup Friendlies
Last update: March 24, 2026
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The striker will skip friendlies against the United States and Mexico to focus on regaining fitness amid a challenging club season.
Belgium's all-time leading goalscorer Romelu Lukaku will miss his country's visit to the United States for two 2026 World Cup warm-up matches, the Belgian football federation RBFA announced on Tuesday.
Rudi Garcia's Belgium begin their preparations for this summer's tournament in North America with friendlies against two of the co-host nations. They will play the United States in Atlanta on Saturday before taking on Mexico in Chicago on April 1.
They will do so without 32 year old Lukaku, who has decided not to take part in the matches in order to work on his fitness.
Lukaku has endured a difficult season with his club Napoli, where he now finds himself playing second fiddle to Dane Rasmus Hojlund. As a result, he will take time to regain his form after being sidelined through injury during the first half of the season.
He has made just seven appearances for the Serie A champions in all competitions this term.
The absence of the player who has scored 89 goals in 124 appearances for Belgium is another blow for Garcia, who is already without two other forwards, Club Brugge's Hans Vanaken and Leandro Trossard of Arsenal.
Garcia had said on Friday that he intended to use the World Cup warm-up fixtures to help Lukaku get back to match fitness.
Goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, who picked up an injury last week while playing for Real Madrid, is the other notable absentee from a Belgium squad that welcomes back former Manchester City star Kevin De Bruyne after several months on the sidelines.
