The Belgian team will face Spain at SoFi Stadium (USA) at 2:00 AM on July 11 (Vietnam time) in the quarter-finals of the 2026 World Cup. However, coach Rudi Garcia will not have the service of center-back Zeno Debast.
The 22-year-old player suffered a thigh injury in Sporting Lisbon's colors in the Portuguese national championship at the end of May. However, he was still called up to participate in the 2026 World Cup with the Belgian national team.
In the first 4 matches of the "Red Devils", Debast was not on the registered squad list. In the victory over the home team USA in the round of 16, the 1m91 tall center-back was put on the reserve list but has not been used.
Before the quarter-final match against Spain, the medical department of the Belgian team confirmed that Debast has recovered and is eligible to play, at least he can be on the bench.
However, Sporting Lisbon did not agree to let this player play due to concerns about the risk of injury recurrence. Debast currently has a contract with the Portuguese team until June 2029.
Faced with the tough stance from Sporting Lisbon, the Belgian Football Federation was forced to remove Debast from the registered squad for the quarter-final match.
The Belgian Football Federation said: "Zeno Debast will not participate in the quarter-finals. Sporting Lisbon believes that he is not healthy enough to play. This view is contrary to the assessment of the Belgian team's medical team as well as FIFA's insurance units, which have confirmed that Debast is eligible to play".
