Why isn’t Romelu Lukaku starting for Belgium against Senegal at the 2026 World Cup?

Belgium face Senegal in the Round of 32 of the 2026 World Cup at Seattle Stadium, and manager Rudi Garcia has once again opted to leave Romelu Lukaku out of his starting eleven.

Garcia is sticking with Charles De Ketelaere in the false-nine role up front, a setup that has defined Belgium’s attack throughout the group stage, with Lukaku held in reserve to be introduced from the bench.

Lukaku has been Belgium‘s most decisive weapon precisely as a substitute, delivering the goods every time he’s been called upon in this tournament. He came off the bench to force an opponent into an own goal in Belgium’s opening draw with Egypt, then scored the winner against New Zealand in the group-stage finale, adding an assist along the way.

Garcia has made clear that using Lukaku as an impact substitute, rather than a starter, is a tactical choice. In fact, he did start in Belgium’s second group game against Iran, and struggled to keep up with the pace of the match — he failed to register a single shot, picked up a yellow card, and was substituted in the 73rd minute.

Lukaku’s fitness issues after a tough season

Lukaku’s tournament has been shadowed by a difficult club campaign. A pre-season injury at Napoli kept him sidelined for months, and he managed just 64 minutes across seven matches throughout the season, scoring only once, in a February match against Hellas Verona.

That lack of match sharpness left real doubt over whether Lukaku would even make Belgium’s World Cup squad. He has since nearly doubled his season’s club minutes in the space of Belgium’s three group games, but Garcia continues to manage his workload carefully, knowing the striker could perform better for him coming off the bench than starting the match.