Belgium head coach Rudi Garcia has expressed confidence in his side’s ability to make a significant impact at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, insisting the Red Devils have the quality and ambition to achieve something special on football’s biggest stage.
The Red Devils have been drawn in Group G with Egypt, Iran, and New Zealand.
Garcia Targets World Cup Glory
Garcia’s immediate aim is to help the team to move on from their disappointing group-stage exit at Qatar 2022.
“We need to distinguish between our objective and our ambition. Our priority is to get through the group stage. Let’s come out on top so that we earn a more favourable draw and, ideally, stay put [in Seattle for the Round of 32]. That will be the objective,”Garcia told FIFA.com.
“We’ll go as far as possible. Then again, it also comes down to the luck of the draw. But, as I said, we’re very driven, we’re aiming high and our squad is capable of achieving great things.”
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Belgium Favourites In Group G
Belgium are widely expected to finish top of Group G, boasting a squad packed with quality and experience.
The Europeans World Cup pedigree also far outweighs that of their Group G rivals, with 14 appearances to their name compared to Egypt’s three, Iran’s six and New Zealand’s two.
Although the odds appear to be in their favour, Garcia is taking nothing for granted.
“We have a huge amount of respect for the other three sides in our group,” he stressed. “This is what the World Cup is all about. We know Egypt well; they’re one of the best teams in Africa. I know all about Mo Salah as I coached him at Roma,” added Garcia.
“We’re also up against a team from Oceania and one from Asia. We’re obviously less familiar with them as we don’t see them play as often, but we’re looking forward to finding out what the Iranian and New Zealand teams are made of.
“Let’s start by respecting our group-stage opponents. Let’s beat them, finish top of the group, and then we’ll see how far we can go.”
