Belgium have appointed Mark van Bommel as their new head coach, handing the former Netherlands captain a contract that runs through Euro 2028 (BBC Sport).

The 49-year-old succeeds Rudi Garcia, whose departure was confirmed after Belgium's quarter-final exit to Spain at the 2026 World Cup. Spain went on to lift the trophy. Garcia's contract ran until 31 July 2026 and was not extended by the Belgian Football Association (RBFA).

Van Bommel will officially take up the role on 15 August, giving him a matter of weeks before Belgium's Nations League campaign gets under way. The Nations League is UEFA's international competition, grouping national teams into leagues and divisions. Belgium face Italy, France, and Turkey across September and October — three matches that will offer an immediate sense of what the new era looks like.

He will not be working alone. Boudewijn Zenden, Maarten Martens, and Reinier Robbemond make up the coaching staff. Vincent Mannaert, the RBFA's sporting director, oversaw the appointment (BBC Sport).

What makes the choice intriguing is the symmetry. Van Bommel most recently managed Royal Antwerp, guiding the club to a Belgian league title, a Belgian Cup, and a Belgian Super Cup across a two-year spell. He knows Belgian football from the inside — the players, the culture, the rhythm of the domestic game. Now he steps up from club to country, tasked with reviving a national side still searching for the tournament run its talent has long promised.

Van Bommel's playing career gives him instant dressing-room authority. He captained the Netherlands, won league titles with Barcelona and Bayern Munich, and built a reputation as one of the most combative midfielders of his generation — the sort of player opponents hated facing and teammates loved having beside them. Whether that intensity translates to international management is the question Belgium are betting on.

The Red Devils have been here before. A golden generation featuring Kevin De Bruyne, Romelu Lukaku, and Thibaut Courtois produced some of the most entertaining football of the 2010s but never converted talent into a major trophy. Garcia took them to a World Cup quarter-final; Van Bommel is now being asked to go further.

His first real test comes fast. Italy, France, and Turkey in the space of two months. By mid-October, Belgium will have a clearer picture of whether their new coach can turn pedigree on the touchline into results on the pitch.