Belgium star ‘blocked’ from playing in World Cup match against Spain by his club
Belgium won’t be able to include one of their players in the World Cup quarter-final against Spain – because his club won’t let him play.
After beating the United States 4-1 in the round of 16, the Red Devils are set to face the European champions at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles on Friday night. But, unexpectedly, Belgium will be missing Zeno Debast due to a disagreement between his club and the national team about his fitness.
Debast, 22, was part of coach Rudi Garcia’s 26-man squad even though he’s been out with a thigh injury since May and missed the first four games of the tournament. He was on the bench during the win over the US but didn’t get on the field.
Belgium hoped he’d be ready to play later in the tournament, but Sporting CP, his club, said he’s not fit to play. The Royal Belgian Football Association (RBFA) explained that Sporting CP told Debast he’s medically unfit, which is different from the opinion of both the Belgian and FIFA medical teams. For now, Debast is training alone, supervised by the RBFA’s staff.
This means Debast might miss out on his dream of playing in the World Cup, even though he was optimistic about recovering after the group stage. After an MRI, he said, “Everything is going as planned. I feel good. It’s tough to watch the team play without being able to join, but I’m thankful to be here and working on my comeback.”
Belgium has been sharing videos of Debast training again on social media, with captions like “Back with the team.” On Instagram, he posted a picture of himself on the floor with his hands on his head, hinting at his frustration.
Debast has played 26 times for Belgium, scoring in a friendly against the US in March. He was part of the 2022 World Cup squad but didn’t play then. He joined Sporting CP from Anderlecht in 2024 and has made 72 appearances for them.
Belgium will also be without Amadou Onana, who suffered a serious knee injury just 21 minutes into the match against the US. Although he’ll be with the team for the Spain match, the Aston Villa player will need surgery and will likely be out for six to nine months.