Belgium will be without De Bruyne and Lukaku for the Nations League matches against Italy and France, as both have voluntarily withdrawn.

Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku will not be in the Belgian squad for the upcoming 2024-25 UEFA Nations League matches.

Coach Domenico Tedesco’s Belgium team is currently preparing for very difficult matches against Italy (October 10 in Rome) and France (October 14, Brussels).

The absence of De Bruyne and Lukaku was revealed by the newspaper Sudpresse et Le Soir, thereby worsening the situation of the “Red Devils”.

Sudpresse et Le Soir said that De Bruyne and Lukaku voluntarily withdrew from this international competition, without any problem with coach Tedesco.

Previously, goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois publicly announced that he would not return to the national team if Tedesco was still in charge. This is his reaction to not being included in EURO 2024.

Lukaku missed last month’s international fixtures in the Nations League against Israel (won 3-1) and France (lost 0-2).

At that time, Lukaku focused on resolving his future, when he moved from Chelsea to Napoli.

Meanwhile, De Bruyne was injured in the opening match of the Champions League, a 0-0 draw with Inter Milan, after a collision with goalkeeper Yann Sommer.

De Bruyne is still in the process of recovering. The Man City vice-captain did not play in the recent Champions League win over Slovan Bratislava.

According to Sudpresse et Le Soir, De Bruyne and Lukaku have had constructive talks with coach Tedesco in recent weeks.

A representative of the Belgian Football Federation believes that the two will soon return to the national team, to compete with the “Red Devils” for a ticket to the 2026 World Cup.