The Round of 32 World Cup clash between Belgium and Senegal features several players from Serie A. Kevin De Bruyne and Charles De Ketelaere will represent Belgium, while Assane Diao is set to play for Senegal. Belgium will have a forced change in goal.
The match is scheduled to kick off in Seattle at 9:00 PM UK time (10:00 PM CEST).
The winner of this encounter will advance to face either the USA or Bosnia and Herzegovina in the next round.
Belgium’s squad is notably strong with Serie A talent, including Napoli’s forward Romelu Lukaku and AC Milan winger Alexis Saelemaekers, who will be on the bench.
De Bruyne will be orchestrating the midfield following a challenging first season at Napoli. Notably, Charles De Ketelaere from Atalanta has been surprisingly chosen to play as a False 9.
Defender Zeno Debast is unavailable for Belgium due to a muscular issue.
Belgium’s tournament performance has been somewhat inconsistent so far, with draws against Egypt and Iran, followed by a decisive 5-1 victory over New Zealand.
Senegal also had a mixed start, experiencing losses to France and Norway in closely contested matches, before securing their qualification with a dominant 5-0 win against Iraq.
The sole Serie A player in the Senegal squad is Assane Diao from Como. The 20-year-old forward is expected to make an impact from the bench.
Senegal received disappointing news just hours before the game as their goalkeeper, Edouard Mendy, had to withdraw due to injury. Consequently, Yevhann Diouf will make his World Cup debut in this match.
Belgium vs. Senegal Line-ups
Belgium: Courtois; Castagne, Mechele, Theate, De Cuyper; Vanaken, Tielemans; Doku, De Bruyne, Trossard; De Ketelaere
Senegal: Mory Diaw; Diatta, Ciss, Niakhaté, Jakobs; H Diarra, I Gueye, P Gueye; I Ndiaye, Sarr, Mané
Match Information
Date: July 1, 2026
Time: 21:00 UK time / 22:00 CEST
Stage: Round of 32
Venue: Lumen Field
Starting Lineups
Belgium
- Thibaut Courtois (Goalkeeper)
- Timothy Castagne (Defender)
- Brandon Mechele (Defender)
- Arthur Theate (Defender)
- Maxim De Cuyper (Defender)
- Hans Vanaken (Midfielder)
- Youri Tielemans (Midfielder)
- Kevin De Bruyne (Midfielder)
- Jérémy Doku (Attacker)
- Leandro Trossard (Attacker)
- Charles De Ketelaere (Attacker)
Senegal
- Mory Diaw (Goalkeeper)
- Krépin Diatta (Midfielder)
- Pathé Ciss (Midfielder)
- Moussa Niakhaté (Defender)
- Ismail Jakobs (Defender)
- Habib Diarra (Midfielder)
- Idrissa Gueye (Midfielder)
- Pape Gueye (Midfielder)
- Iliman Ndiaye (Attacker)
- Ismaïla Sarr (Attacker)
- Sadio Mané (Attacker)