Van Bommel named Belgium head coach on deal to Euro 2028 after Garcia exit

Marc van Bommel has been appointed Belgium head coach on a contract running until the end of Euro 2028, the Royal Belgian Football Association confirmed on Friday.

The Dutchman, who has been out of work since leaving Royal Antwerp at the end of the 2023-24 season, succeeds Frenchman Rudi Garcia, whose 18-month spell in charge ended after the 2026 World Cup.

In a statement, the Belgian federation said Van Bommel will officially take up the role on 15 August. He will be joined on the coaching staff by Boudouin Zenden, Maarten Martens and Reiner Robbemond.

Garcia departure after World Cup quarter-final

Garcia’s contract expired following Belgium’s campaign at the 2026 World Cup, where they were knocked out in the quarter-finals by Spain. The Spanish side went on to win the tournament.

That defeat brought an end to an 18-match unbeaten run for Belgium, a sequence that had stretched back to March 2025.

Van Bommel, 47, now takes over a team currently ranked eighth in the FIFA world rankings and tasked with finally delivering a deep run at a European Championship after a series of disappointments.

Van Bommel targets disciplined, ambitious Belgium

Speaking after his appointment was announced, Van Bommel said: “انه لشرف كبير ان اصبح المدير الفني لمنتخب بلجيكا، واشكر الاتحاد البلجيكي على ثقته”.

He added: “بلجيكا تمتلك لاعبين مميزين وامكانات هايلة. مع جهازي الفني، نسعى لبناء منتخب منضبط وطموح وشجاع، قادر على منافسة افضل المنتخبات في العالم”.

Van Bommel continued: “لا احد يستطيع ضمان النجاح، لكن يمكننا ضمان العمل الجاد والصدق والالتزام. سنبذل كل ما لدينا لمساعدة هذا المنتخب على التطور يوما بعد يوم واسعاد الجماهير البلجيكية”.

Euro 2028 the central objective

Belgium have not gone beyond the quarter-finals of the European Championship since the tournament was expanded in 1996.

They were eliminated in the last 16 in the most recent edition and went out in the quarter-finals in the previous one, a pattern the Belgian federation expects Van Bommel to break, with Euro 2028 identified as the primary target at the start of his project.

Coaching return after Antwerp success

Van Bommel returns to the dugout two years after his last job, having left Royal Antwerp at the end of the 2023-24 campaign.

In his first season at Antwerp, he led the club to the Belgian league title – their first championship in 66 years. He departed after the following season, during which Antwerp took part in the Champions League but were eliminated in the group stage.

His coaching career has also included a spell in charge of PSV Eindhoven, as well as assistant roles with the national teams of Saudi Arabia and Australia. He had a brief stint at Wolfsburg in Germany, which ended less than five months after his appointment.

Decorated playing career

As a player, Van Bommel won 79 caps for the Netherlands and was part of the squad that reached the 2010 World Cup final.

At club level he represented several major European sides, most notably Barcelona and Bayern Munich, before moving into coaching.

Van Bommel will now be charged with reshaping a Belgium side seeking to convert a strong FIFA ranking and a talented pool of players into long-awaited success on the continental stage.