Courtois return to Belgium squad after lengthy absence

BRUSSELS : Goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois will make his return for Belgium in Nations League action later this month after being included on Friday in their 26-man squad to face Ukraine in the two-leg Nations League playoff.

Courtois has been absent from the Belgian side for almost two years after a spat in June 2023 with previous coach Domenico Tedesco over the captaincy.

It meant the 32-year-old, who has 102 caps for Belgium, sat out last year’s European Championship but since Tedesco’s sacking, and the appointment of Rudi Garcia as new coach in January, the Real Madrid goalkeeper has had a change of heart.

Friday's squad announcement marked the first for Garcia, who debuts in charge of the side when they meet Ukraine in the playoff tie. The first leg is in Murcia, Spain next Thursday with the return in Genk on March 23.

Courtois' imminent return did not sit well with Koen Casteels, who has been first choice goalkeeper in his absence, leading Casteels last Sunday to quit the national team, criticising the decision to accept the former keeper's wish to return.

Casteels suggested there were other players who were also unhappy with Courtois’ behaviour in the spat with Tedesco.

Questioned at a press conference about whether Courtois would be asked to apologise for his behaviour, Garcia said: "We're starting with a blank slate. I won't see the players until Monday, but we'll talk to the leaders again about what happened. But after that, I'm not going to keep dwelling on what happened years ago. Otherwise we won't make any progress."

As for the captaincy, which Kevin De Bruyne took over from Eden Hazard after the 2022 World Cup, Garcia said he was yet to make a decision.

"I have an idea in my head about that. Kevin, Romelu (Lukaku) and Thibaut are definitely candidates. We will see next week who the leaders are," Garcia added.

Belgium squad:

Goalkeepers: Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid), Senne Lammens (Royal Antwerp), Matz Sels (Nottingham Forest), Maarten Vandevoordt (RB Leipzig)

Defenders: Timothy Castagne (Fulham), Zeno Debast (Sporting Lisbon), De Cuyper (Club Brugge), Koni De Winter (Genoa), Wout Faes (Leicester City), Brandon Mechele (Club Brugge), Thomas Meunier (Lille), Arthur Theate (Eintracht Frankfurt)

Midfielders: Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City), Bryan Heynen (Racing Genk), Jorthy Mokio (Ajax Amsterdam), Nicolas Raskin (Rangers), Youri Tielemans (Aston Villa), Hans Vanaken (Club Brugge)

Forwards: Charles De Ketelaere (Atalanta), Jeremy Doku (Manchester City), Malick Fofana (Olympique Lyonnais), Romelu Lukaku (Napoli), Dodi Lukebakio (Sevilla), Lois Openda (RB Leipzig), Alexis Saelemaekers (AS Roma), Leandro Trossard (Arsenal).

(Writing by Mark Gleeson in Cape Town; Editing by Christian Radnedge)