Belgium Ready for Knockouts Against Senegal

SEATTLE – Belgium have spent the group stage walking a tightrope. Now, as the World Cup switches to knockout jeopardy and Senegal loom on the horizon, they finally feel ready to sprint.

Coach Rudi Garcia confirmed on Tuesday that, for the first time at this tournament, his entire squad is fit and available. It has taken them four matches to get here.

“Before this game against Senegal, we are lucky to have everyone available, and that's a good thing because it was not the case for the first three games,” Garcia said in Seattle. “Everyone was not 100 percent, unfortunately, or everyone was not completely fit. But this is over.”

Belgium’s route to the last 16 has been anything but smooth. They opened their Group G campaign with back-to-back draws against Egypt and Iran, performances that felt heavy and hesitant for a side carrying expectations and scars in equal measure. Then came the release: a 5-1 dismantling of New Zealand that not only secured top spot, but finally looked like Belgium.

The goals flowed, the combinations clicked, and the mood shifted. The win did more than settle a group; it restored a little of the swagger that has too often deserted this generation on the biggest stages.

Key pieces have been playing catch-up. Romelu Lukaku, the country’s record scorer and emotional barometer, arrived in the United States short of rhythm after a season at Napoli ruined by a stubborn hamstring injury. He barely managed an hour of league football, but in this tournament he has been drip-fed minutes off the bench, gradually punching holes in defences and in the doubts around his fitness.

Jeremy Doku, one of Belgium’s most explosive outlets, missed the second group game altogether, flying to London for the birth of his son. Charles De Ketelaere sat out the goalless draw with Iran with a knee issue, another attacking option stuck on the sidelines while Belgium laboured.

Now, finally, the pieces are back on the board.

“Jeremy, Romelu are getting better. Charles, I think that his problem is over as well,” Garcia said, his tone reflecting a squad that feels lighter, sharper, and suddenly more dangerous.

The coach did not hide his mixed feelings about the journey so far. “We wanted to end first in the group and this is what we did,” he said. “I wish we had won more games, all the games, but we're not going to go back in the past. What matters now is that we progressed out of the group stage.”

That last line tells the story. The margins now are brutal. One bad half, one lapse, and the plane tickets home get booked.

Senegal, hardened by tournament football and never shy of a physical battle, will test Belgium’s renewed optimism. There will be no easing into this knockout phase, no time to play themselves into form. Belgium must start at full speed.

Inside the camp, there is no illusion about how quickly reputations can crumble at this stage. Atalanta forward De Ketelaere pointed to Paraguay’s shock win over Germany on Monday as the latest reminder that the World Cup delights in tearing up scripts.

“I don't think it matters who is the favourite,” De Ketelaere said. “It matters that we have confidence in ourselves and that we are sharp tomorrow to just go win this game, because yesterday showed us that to be favourites or not, it doesn't matter.

“We need to be alert and sharp to win the game.”

That, in essence, is Belgium’s challenge. They arrive at the knockouts with their stars fit, their bench loaded, and their group topped. They also arrive having been warned, loudly and recently, that pedigree counts for nothing once the bracket tightens.

Senegal will not care about Belgium’s ranking or their renaissance against New Zealand. Belgium, finally whole again, have no excuses left.