Courtois back in Belgium squad after near-two-year absence

Thibaut Courtois has been named in Rudi Garcia’s first Belgium squad, ending his near-two-year absence from the Red Devils setup.

Courtois walked out of the Belgium camp in June 2023 following a row with previous coach Domenico Tedesco over the captaincy and subsequently refused to represent his country.

However, the Real Madrid shot-stopper said he was open to a return when Tedesco was sacked in January, and new boss Garcia has wasted no time in recalling him.

He could feature when Belgium face Ukraine in a two-legged promotion-relegation tie in the Nations League next week.

The first leg will take place on neutral ground in Murcia next Thursday, with the return fixture taking place in Genk three days later.

Asked on Friday if Courtois had been asked to apologise to his team-mates before returning, Garcia said: “We’re starting with a blank slate.

“I won’t see the players until Monday, but we’ll talk to the leaders again about what happened.

“But after that, I’m not going to keep dwelling on what happened years ago. Otherwise, we won’t make any progress.”

Garcia also refused to confirm the identity of his captain, only saying Courtois, along with Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne and Napoli striker Romelu Lukaku, was a candidate.

A new chapter begins. pic.twitter.com/gKtaGg9EgS

— Belgian Red Devils (@BelRedDevils) March 14, 2025

Belgium squad: Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid), Senne Lammens (Antwerp), Matz Sels (Nottingham Forest), Maarten Vandevoordt (RB Leipzig); Timothy Castagne (Fulham), Zeno Debast (Sporting CP), De Cuyper (Club Brugge), Koni De Winter (Genoa), Wout Faes (Leicester City), Brandon Mechele (Club Brugge), Thomas Meunier (Lille), Arthur Theate (Eintracht Frankfurt); Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City), Bryan Heynen (Genk), Jorthy Mokio (Ajax), Nicolas Raskin (Rangers), Youri Tielemans (Aston Villa), Hans Vanaken (Club Brugge); Charles De Ketelaere (Atalanta), Jeremy Doku (Manchester City), Malick Fofana (Lyon), Romelu Lukaku (Napoli), Dodi Lukebakio (Sevilla), Lois Openda (RB Leipzig), Alexis Saelemaekers (Roma), Leandro Trossard (Arsenal).