Romelu Lukaku will miss the World Cup warm-up trip from Belgium to the US

Belgium’s all-time top scorer Romelu Lukaku will miss his country’s visit to the United States for two World Cup warm-up matches in 2026, the Belgian Football Federation (RBFA) announced on Tuesday.

Rudi Garcia’s Belgium will begin their preparations for this summer’s tournament in North America with friendlies against two of the co-hosts – playing the US in Atlanta on Saturday before taking on Mexico in Chicago on April 1.

But Belgium will do so without 32-year-old Lukaku, who has decided not to participate in the matches to work on his fitness.

Lukaku has had a tough season at his club Napoli, where he now plays second fiddle to the Dane Rasmus Hojlund. It will therefore take time to regain his form after being sidelined due to an injury in the first half of the season.

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This season he has made just seven appearances for the Serie A champions in all competitions.

The absence of the man who scored 89 goals in 124 games for Belgium is another blow for Garcia, who is already without two other strikers: Club Brugge’s Hans Vanaken and Arsenal’s Leandro Trossard.

Garcia had said on Friday that he planned to use the World Cup warm-up matches to help Lukaku «get fit again».

Goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, who suffered an injury playing for Real Madrid last week, is the other notable absentee from the Belgium squad that welcomes former Manchester City star Kevin De Bruyne after several months on the sidelines.

Published on March 24, 2026