Mark van Bommel named new head coach of Belgium's national football team
The Belgian football association, KBVB, appointed Mark van Bommel as the new national coach of the men's team. Van Bommel is signing a contract through the 2028 European Championship, the KBVB announced in a statement on Friday.
Van Bommel's first international match as national coach is the away game against Italy in the Nations League on September 25. The 49-year-old from the Netherlands will succeed Rudi Garcia. The French coach left the role on Monday a day after Spain won the World Cup. Even though Belgium was the only team to score against the Spanish squad this World Cup, they knocked Belgium out of the tournament at the quarterfinal stage, 2-1.
Belgium finished at the top of Group G at this year's World Cup by playing to a 1-1 draw against Egypt, a 0-0 draw against Iran, and then defeating New Zealand by a 5-1 score. Belgium then beat Senegal 3-2 in the Round of 32, and followed that up by knocking out the United States, 4-1, during the next round.
Van Bommel was already mentioned by various media outlets earlier this week as a leading candidate for the position. He will be joined in Belgium by Boudewijn Zenden, Maarten Martens, and Reinier Robbemond as assistant coaches.
The Limburg native worked in Belgium between 2022 and 2024 as manager of Royal Antwerp FC, with whom he won the national championship, the national cup, and the Belgian Super Cup in 2023. Van Bommel was previously the manager of PSV in Eindhoven, and VfL Wolfsburg, but he has not been working with a football club since he left Antwerp two years ago.
As a player, the former midfielder appeared in 79 matches for the Dutch national team. During his career, he played for Fortuna Sittard, PSV, FC Barcelona, Bayern Munich, and AC Milan.
"It is a great honor to become the national coach of Belgium," said Van Bommel in a statement released by the KBVB. "I want to thank the Royal Belgian Football Association for the trust they are placing in me. Belgium has outstanding players and enormous potential. Together with my technical staff, we want to build a team that is disciplined, ambitious, and brave enough to compete with the very best," he continued.
"Success is never guaranteed, but hard work, honesty, and dedication are. We will give everything to help this team improve every day and make the Belgian people proud."
Zenden, also a former Netherlands international player, previously served as an assistant at PSV and Chelsea, among other clubs. Martens, from Belgium, worked as head coach at AZ, until he left Alkmaar in January. Robbemond was head coach at FC Oss, De Graafschap, Willem II, and other clubs, and was Van Bommel's assistant at PSV.
