Manager Garcia to leave Belgium when contract expires

What the report says

BBC Sport reports that Rudi Garcia will leave his position as Belgium manager after the Royal Belgian Football Association chose not to extend his deal. The 62-year-old, appointed in January 2025 after Domenico Tedesco, is due to reach the end of his contract at the end of July 2026.

Garcia’s tenure included a run to the quarter-finals of the 2026 World Cup, where Belgium were beaten 2-1 by eventual winners Spain. Across 20 matches under him, Belgium recorded 12 wins, six draws and two defeats, according to the BBC article’s match record caption.

Royal Belgian FA sports director Vincent Mannaert credited Garcia with helping rebuild cohesion in the national team during what he described as a difficult sporting and financial period. Mannaert said the federation was now preparing for a new cycle, including the appointment of Belgium’s next head coach.

BBC Sport noted that Belgium were not fully convincing in the World Cup group stage, winning one of three matches, before a late comeback against Senegal and a 4-1 win over co-hosts the United States. The decision leaves Belgium searching for new leadership soon after a respectable but ultimately unsuccessful World Cup campaign, while Garcia continues a recent pattern of short managerial spells since leaving Marseille in 2019.