Lukaku among five withdrawals from Belgium squad

Romelu Lukaku has withdrawn from the Belgium squad along with four other players due to injury ahead of Monday's Nations League final against Israel.

Belgium sit third in Nations League Group A2 after their 1-0 defeat to Italy on Thursday, a result that ended their hopes of reaching the quarter-finals next year.

They are simply playing to avoid automatic relegation when they take on Israel behind closed doors in Hungary, with a draw enough to send the Red Devils through to a play-off against a third-placed player from League B.

Napoli striker Lukaku – Belgium's all-time top scorer with 85 goals in 120 caps – has just joined Aston Villa's Amadou Onana, Chelsea's Romeo Lavia, Eintracht Frankfurt's Arthur Theate and Bruges' Maxim De Cuyper in dropping out due to unspecified problems.

Manchester City star Kevin De Bruyne has already asked not to be included in Domenico Tedesco's company as he works his way back to full fitness after a thigh injury.

Sebastiaan Bornauw, Koni De Winter, Jeremy Doku and Youri Tielemans were also left out of Tedesco's squad due to fitness concerns, while Coventry City striker Norman Bassette has now been called up as cover.

Onana, Lukaku, De Cuyper, Lavia and Theate are not fit for the match against Israel and leave the team.

— Belgian Red Devils (@BelRedDevils) November 16, 2024