Belgium appoints Van Bommel as new head coach
Mark van Bommel has been appointed as Belgium's new head coach in the wake of the departure of Rudi Garcia after its quarter-final exit at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Van Bommel has signed a contract with Belgium through to the European championships in 2028, and will officially begin in his role on 15 August.
The 49-year-old is Belgium's third managerial change in as many years, and becomes the first Dutchman to take charge of the Red Devils since Dick Advocaat back in 2009.
Belgium impressed at this year's FIFA World Cup, finishing top of Group G with five points before beating Senegal and United States to reach the last eight.
However, it was beaten by eventual tournament winner Spain, with Mikel Merino's 88th-minute winner sealing a 2-1 victory for Luis De la Fuente's side.
Excluding the third-place play-off match, Belgium has now been eliminated from each of its past four FIFA World Cup knockout stage ties against fellow UEFA nations, since beating Spain on penalties at the quarter-final stage of the 1986 tournament.
That brought an end to Garcia's reign. He took charge of 20 games, recording 12 wins, sx draws and two losses to finish with a 60 per cent win rate, with Van Bommel the next man in the hot seat.
"It is a great honour to become head coach of Belgium," Van Bommel said.
"I would like to thank the Royal Belgian Football Association for their confidence in me. Belgium has outstanding players and enormous potential.
"Together with my coaching staff, we want to build a team that is disciplined, ambitious and brave enough to compete with the very best.
"Success is never guaranteed, but hard work, honesty and commitment are. We will give everything to help this team improve every day and make the Belgian people proud.
"I am looking forward to meeting the players, the staff and the supporters, and beginning this new chapter together."
This will be Van Bommel's fourth managerial role, and his first since spending two years in the Belgian Pro League with Royal Antwerp between 2022 and 2024.
During his time in Belgium, he won the Belgian league title, Belgian Cup and Belgian Super Cup. He won the top-flight crown in his first season as a manager in Belgium, starting that 2022-2023 campaign with nine straight victories.
Van Bommel will be assisted by Boudewijn Zenden, Maarten Martens and Reinier Robbemond, with his first task to oversee Belgium's UEFA Nations League campaign.
The Red Devils begin against Italy on 26 September (AEST) before taking on France twice, with those games coming either side of a clash with Turkiye.
