Belgium defender Zeno Debast will miss the World Cup quarter-final against Spain due to a disagreement between his club, Sporting Lisbon, and the Royal Belgian Football Association (RBFA) over his fitness.
According to a statement from the RBFA, Sporting CP informed Debast that he was not medically fit to play. This assessment, however, differs from that of the Belgian national team's medical staff and FIFA's medical and insurance authorities. Debast, 22, has not featured in the tournament thus far after sustaining an injury late in the Portuguese domestic season.
He returned to team training in late June, and there was hope he would be available for the knockout stages under coach Rudi Garcia. Currently, Debast is training individually under the supervision of the RBFA's Performance Department.
The Athletic reported that Sporting and the RBFA have maintained daily contact throughout the tournament regarding Debast's condition. A meeting was scheduled in Los Angeles before Friday's match to further assess the situation.
Debast has earned 26 caps for Belgium and was part of the squad for the 2022 World Cup. Throughout the current tournament, he has been observed training alone and supporting his teammates from the sidelines.
Despite Debast's absence, Belgium has remained unbeaten in the World Cup. They topped their group with five points and advanced through the knockout rounds, including a victory over Senegal and a 4-1 win against the USMNT in the last-16.
Looking ahead to the match against Spain, Belgium coach Rudi Garcia acknowledged his team's underdog status. "We know we are playing one of the favorites," Garcia said. "Spain are probably the best at ball possession and they have been playing in a recognizable way for 15 or 20 years. But we have a great team. We are the second-highest scorers in the World Cup and we are facing the team with the highest expected goals. We think we can do it."