Chelsea midfielder Romeo Lavia has been left out of Belgium’s official squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. (Scroll down to view the full list)
The 26-man squad was announced by head coach Rudi Garcia ahead of the European nation’s participation in this year’s World Cup.
The 2018 World Cup bronze medal winners are in Group G alongside Egypt, Iran, and New Zealand; New Zealand announced its squad earlier this week, with Nottingham Forest’s Chris Woods headlining the squad.
Belgium’s team still has holdovers from the 2018 group, including Romelu Lukaku, Kevin De Bruyne, Axel Witsel, and Thibaut Courtois.
However, one of the interesting names omitted from this year’s World Cup squad is Chelsea midfielder Romeo Lavia.
The former Southampton player was not included in the team after playing 21 games this season, which is a marked improvement for the injury-prone player.
His absence from the team also opens up the possibility for Lavia to play for Ghana, having made just one appearance for Belgium at the senior level.
22-year-old Lavia, whose father is Ghanaian, was born in Belgium to a Congolese mother. Like Belgium, Ghana will compete at this year’s World Cup against England, Panama, and Croatia at the group stage.
