Belgium coach offers no guarantees to Lukaku before Turkey clash

FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - FIFA World Cup 2026 - Round of 16 - United States v Belgium - Seattle Stadium, Seattle, Washington, U.S. - July 6, 2026 Belgium's Romelu Lukaku celebrates scoring their fourth goal REUTERS/Agustin Marcarian/File Photo

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BRUSSELS, Oct 1 : Belgium coach Mark van Bommel played down concerns over Romelu Lukaku's limited involvement in his first two matches in charge but said he could not guarantee Belgium’s top scorer playing time against Turkey on Friday.

Lukaku played only the final seven minutes of last week's 2-0 Nations League win over Italy in Rome and remained on the bench during Monday's last-gasp home defeat by France.

His limited role raised questions over the international future of the 33-year-old, who has scored 93 goals in 133 appearances for Belgium.

"It is absolutely not the case that Romelu cannot come on or start. Quite the opposite,” Van Bommel told a press conference on Thursday ahead of the match in Liege.

"It depends on what we think we need in a particular phase or situation. He has certain qualities, but I felt that in that match we were playing a little further away from goal, which meant we could use pace. The only disadvantage is that he hasn’t played much for Fenerbahce."

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