De Bruyne on what he and Lukaku bring to Belgium’s troubled World Cup campaign

Kevin De Bruyne insists he and Romelu Lukaku can bring ‘experience’ to the Belgium squad at the 2026 World Cup, helping the players be ‘even more determined’ after two disappointing draws.

Rudi Garcia’s Belgium kicked off their 2026 World Cup campaign with back-to-back draws against Iran and Egypt.

“We made some silly mistakes, and we put a lot of pressure on ourselves,” De Bruyne told Gazzetta.

“Against Iran, we took many shots, and let’s be honest, we were also a bit lucky with that offside call on Taremi’s goal. More balance is needed, and we need to avoid negative thoughts from arising. We’ll have to talk to find the way.”

Both De Bruyne and Lukaku are not in their best shape, but what do they bring to the Belgium squad?

“Experience; that’s what will lead us to managing a situation that is different from the one we expected,” De Bruyne replied.

“I know that in the biggest tournaments, feelings change very quickly, and we must be able to manage the positive and negative moments. Until now, it’s all been very quick; we know we haven’t done well, and this has affected morale, but now is the moment when we need to be even more determined.

“Everyone knows how close we [he and Lukaku] have been for years, but now it’s the time to focus on the team,” De Bruyne concluded.

“We’ve not been up to the task, but we can become so.”