Belgian media on Monday tore into Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku after the Red Devils were held to a goalless draw by Iran in their FIFA World Cup 2026 Group E match in Los Angeles.
The result left Belgium with only two points from two matches and in danger of a second successive group-stage exit at the World Cup. Rudi Garcia’s side will need a strong performance against New Zealand on Friday to keep its qualification hopes alive.
“Shameful,” Flemish daily Het Laatste Nieuws wrote after Belgium’s disappointing performance on Sunday. “They can’t even beat Iran!”
The Dutch-language publication was particularly critical of De Bruyne, 34, and Lukaku, 33, using a digitally aged image of the pair with grey hair and beards for an article headlined “The World Cup retirement home”.
The frustration over Belgium’s failure to beat an opponent considered weaker on paper cut across the country’s linguistic divide.
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French-language daily La Libre described De Bruyne’s performance as “dismal”, comparing him to a “has-been” Hollywood actor willing to take any role “just to stay relevant”.
Garcia was also criticised for not substituting his senior players earlier, while Le Soir blamed centre-back Nathan Ngoy, whose sending-off after a mistake with around 30 minutes remaining left Belgium’s hopes “up in smoke”.
“The Devils at a dead end,” the newspaper wrote.
Belgium, which was also knocked out in the group stage of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, now faces another early exit unless it can beat New Zealand in its final group match.
Published on Jun 22, 2026
