The information is not surprising, but it was confirmed on Tuesday with the disclosure of Belgium’s list for Euro 2024: Thibaut Courtois will not be there.
The lists for Euro 2024 continue to rain in. A few days after that of the French team and the surprise of N’Golo Kanté, or that of England and the sidelining of Marcus Rashford, this time it was Belgium which revealed the names of the players who will represent the selection during the competition organized from June 14 to July 14 in Germany. And as expected, Thibaut Courtois was not summoned by Domenico Tedesco.
The affair dates back to June 2023 and the procrastination of the new Belgian coach regarding the captaincy. With the armband then free after the retirement of Eden Hazard, Tedesco first chose Romelu Lukaku, then wishing to give this famous role to Thibaut Courtois. But the Real Madrid goalkeeper had a bad experience, not understanding why he was not immediately named captain. He then missed a Red Devils rally. An attitude which would therefore have precipitated a quarrel and a clear decision from the coach.
Batshuayi is also no
The latter revealed his list of twenty-five players this Tuesday. He formalized the absence of Thibaut Courtois who will therefore not play Euro 2024 even though he has just returned from a very long injury and took part in Real’s last matches, while waiting for the final of the Champions League against Borussia Dortmund on June 1. Belgium will be able to count on Matz Sels who should start in front of the cage.
For the rest, the other little surprise concerns the absence of Michy Batshuayi, although he was called up during the final gathering of the Belgians. The old hands Kevin De Bruyne, Thomas Meunier, Axel Witsel and even Romelu Lukaku are on the other hand, as are the next generation illustrated by Jeremy Doku and Loïs Openda. Belgium will face Slovakia, Ukraine and Romania during the group stage.
The complete list of Belgium
Goalkeepers: Koen Casteels (Wolfsburg), Thomas Kaminski (Luton Town), Matz Sels (Nottingham Forest)
Defenders: Timothy Castagne (Fulham), Zeno Debast (Anderlecht), Maxim De Cuyper (FC Bruges), Wout Faes (Leicester City), Thomas Meunier (Trabzonspor), Arthur Theate (Rennes), Jan Vertonghen (Anderlecht), Axel Witsel ( Atletico Madrid)
Midfielders: Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City), Orel Mangala (Lyon), Amadou Onana (Everton), Youri Tielemans (Aston Villa), Arthur Vermeeren (Atletico de Madrid), Aster Vranckx (Wolfsburg)
Forwards: Johan Bakayoko (PSV Eindhoven), Yannick Carrasco (Al-Shabab), Charles De Ketelaere (Atalanta), Jérémy Doku (Manchester City), Romelu Lukaku (AS Roma), Dodi Lukebakio (Sevilla FC), Loïs Openda (RB Leipzig ), Leandro Trossard (Arsenal)
