Belgium will try to get Kevin De Bruyne on the ball in a more attacking system when they face Croatia and Tunisia this week, with coach Rudi Garcia saying the team’s job is to play in a way that brings out the best in its captain. Garcia said the approach is meant to make De Bruyne feel good and to help Belgium add more force without the ball before Tuesday’s match in Rijeka and Saturday’s meeting with Tunisia.
The timing matters because De Bruyne has just come through a difficult debut season at Napoli, where a hamstring injury kept him out for around five months and limited him to 21 appearances in all competitions. He still produced five goals and four assists in 1,360 minutes, but his spell in Italy ended with criticism of Antonio Conte’s rigid, defensive set-up and the feeling that he was not being used in his best position.
Garcia, who once coached Napoli, is taking the opposite tack with Belgium. He said the national team already plays offensive football and that it suits De Bruyne, while adding that the side has made progress in being aggressive when it does not have the ball. The comments land just as Belgium begin another short test before the World Cup, with Garcia telling his players he wanted them to enjoy themselves again in national-team duty.
De Bruyne’s presence still gives Belgium a point of reference few sides can match. He was in the squad when they qualified for the World Cup in Liege while injured, a sign Garcia pointed to as proof of the midfielder’s commitment. The 34-year-old has 117 caps and 36 goals for Belgium, leaving him second only to Romelu Lukaku, who has 89.
There is a catch to Belgium’s plan. Lukaku has only one goal in the 2025-26 season, all seven of his appearances have come as a substitute, and Garcia said he cannot start a match yet. That means Belgium’s two main attackers are both being handled carefully, with the coach trying to balance ambition and caution before the tournament picture becomes clearer.
Garcia called Tuesday’s match in Rijeka a perfect pre-tournament test, and that is where the unanswered question now sits: how much of this attacking promise will actually show up when Belgium line up against Croatia. If De Bruyne gets the freedom Garcia is promising, Belgium’s week could tell them a lot more than a friendly usually does.
