De Bruyne does not expect to retire from Belgium duty after World Cup

Kevin De Bruyne doesn’t consider the upcoming World Cup will signify his Belgium swansong, suggesting he’ll proceed to play for his nation if he can keep match.

De Bruyne is ready to seem at a fourth version of the World Cup this 12 months, having beforehand represented the Purple Devils at FIFA’s flagship match in 2014, 2018 and 2022.

Belgium reached the quarter-finals in 2014 and the semi-finals in 2018, however they crashed out within the group stage in 2022 after which underwhelmed once more at Euro 2024, dropping to France within the final 16.

Having been drawn into Group G for this 12 months’s match, alongside Egypt, Iran and New Zealand, Rudi Garcia’s workforce will face two of the co-hosts in pleasant matches within the coming days, taking over the US on Saturday and Mexico on Tuesday.

De Bruyne is out there for these fixtures after recovering from a thigh harm that sidelined him for nearly 5 months, and the Napoli playmaker says his potential to remain match will dictate his worldwide future.

“I don’t suppose I’ll cease after the World Cup. So long as I really feel good, I believe I wish to proceed,” De Bruyne mentioned.

“I’ve now been coaching totally with the workforce for 4 weeks. It was essential to get fitter, to get extra minutes. I’m pleased with how issues are going now.

“I don’t suppose I’ll play 90 minutes twice. You don’t should, in pleasant matches. There are nonetheless essential duels to return. However you will need to acquire match rhythm.”

pic.twitter.com/ZJLKyZg8rE

— Belgian Purple Devils (@BelRedDevils) March 27, 2026

Belgium will probably be with out De Bruyne’s club-mate Romelu Lukaku for his or her forthcoming video games, nonetheless, with their all-time main scorer having solely performed 64 minutes for Napoli all season on account of a recurring hamstring challenge.

With Lukaku desperately trying to get better in time for the World Cup, De Bruyne prompt competing medical opinions had not helped him in his restoration.

“There may be at all times a variety of noise round Napoli. If one thing occurs, it’s magnified,” De Bruyne mentioned. “I don’t know the main points of what precisely is going on.

“However the state of affairs will not be good for Romelu. There was his harm, and it lasted some time. I hope Romelu returns as quickly as potential.

“Romelu and I’ve adopted totally different paths after our accidents. I did a full rehabilitation, and Romelu did half in Antwerp, half in Naples.

“When you could have two totally different visions, it’s troublesome to work collectively. There have been variations. That’s not very best if you wish to get match.”