France Pierron has sparked a sharp debate over Jérémy Doku’s plan to leave the World Cup if the birth of his first child falls during Belgium’s knockout run. On L’Équipe de Choc, Pierron said she did not understand why a player would walk away from a tournament that may never come again for him.
The timing is what has made the discussion matter now. Doku, 24, has said he would like to be present for the birth if the schedule allows it, while his wife, Shireen, is in England and is expected to give birth in London in early July, when the World Cup quarter-finals could be taking place. That overlap has turned a private family decision into a question about what Belgium can afford to lose at the sharp end of the tournament.
Pierron pushed the point hard. She said a World Cup chance is rare, called the birth a moment in which the father is little more than a bystander, and noted that the round trip would take 10 hours. Her view drew an immediate response from Brahim Asloum, who said the moment is unique and cannot be recovered if it is missed.
Doku’s position, however, has been clear. He said he would like to be there, that no one wants to miss the birth of a first child, and that football comes with other considerations. He also said he trusts the federation to support its players and said they would see what can be done. Christophe Franken later said the federation does not want Doku to leave during the knockout stage and is already in contact with doctors at the London hospital where Shireen will give birth.
That leaves Belgium in the middle of a practical problem as much as a moral one. Franken said the round trip might be manageable during the group stage, when teams play every six days, but the calendar tightens in the elimination rounds and the federation has no desire to let Doku go. He added that players who are already fathers may be trying to influence him, and said the issue is being handled as a compromise rather than a rupture.
Belgium has 44 selections and seven goals from Doku, who remains one of its most important attacking players. The federation is now trying to hold two realities together: a father waiting for his first child in London, and a World Cup run that could close before he gets the chance to leave. That is the decision still hanging over him, and it is Belgium’s to make as much as his.
