Thibaut Courtois Returns To Belgium Squad For First Time Since 2023

Goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois is set to return for Belgium in Nations League action later this month, having been named in their 26-man squad on Friday to take on Ukraine in the two-leg playoff.

Courtois has been absent from the Belgian side for almost two years after a spat in June 2023 with previous coach Domenico Tedesco over the captaincy.

This means that the 32-year-old, who has earned 102 caps for Belgium, missed last year’s European Championship.

However, following the sacking of Tedesco and the appointment of Rudi Garcia as the new coach in January, the Real Madrid goalkeeper has had a change of heart.

Friday’s squad announcement marked the first for Garcia, who debuts in charge of the side when they meet Ukraine in the playoff tie. The first leg is in Murcia, Spain next Thursday with the return in Genk on March 23rd.

Courtois’ impending return did not sit well with Koen Casteels, who has been the first-choice goalkeeper during his absence.

As a result, Casteels announced his resignation from the national team last Sunday, criticizing the decision to accommodate the former goalkeeper’s wish to come back.

Casteels suggested other players were also unhappy with Courtois’ behavior in the spat with Tedesco.

Questioned at a press conference about whether Courtois would be asked to apologize for his behavior, 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.”

Regarding the captaincy, which Kevin De Bruyne inherited from Eden Hazard after the 2022 World Cup, Garcia stated that he has not yet made a decision.

“I have an idea in my head about that. Kevin, Romelu (Lukaku,) and Thibaut are definitely candidates. We will see next week who the leaders are,” Garcia added.

Belgium squad:

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

Defenders: Timothy Castagne (Fulham), Zeno Debast (Sporting Lisbon), 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 (Racing Genk), Jorthy Mokio (Ajax Amsterdam), Nicolas Raskin (Rangers), Youri Tielemans (Aston Villa), Hans Vanaken (Club Brugge)

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