Belgium's football federation confirmed Mark van Bommel as the new head coach of the national team on Thursday, ONE reported, ending a search that began the moment Rudi Garcia's tenure ran out at the World Cup.
The 49-year-old Dutchman has signed through the end of Euro 2028, which Britain and Ireland will co-host, and is due to formally take up the post on August 15 before diving straight into Nations League preparations.
Garcia's contract was not renewed after Belgium's exit from the 2026 World Cup, where the Red Devils fell in the quarterfinals to eventual champions Spain. The Belgian federation had been searching for a coach who could reshape the squad without abandoning its remaining pockets of talent.
Van Bommel arrives with a playing pedigree few candidates could match: 79 caps for the Netherlands, a runner-up medal from the 2010 World Cup final, and championships won in the Netherlands, Spain, Germany and Italy across a career at PSV, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and AC Milan.
His coaching path has been steadier than spectacular in places — spells at PSV Eindhoven and Wolfsburg produced mixed results — but it was at Royal Antwerp where he made his name as a manager, guiding the club to the Belgian Pro League and Cup double in 2023, the team's first league title since 1957.
He will be joined on the Belgium bench by three fellow Dutchmen: Boudewijn Zenden, the former Liverpool and Barcelona winger, ex-AZ Alkmaar midfielder Maarten Martens, and the experienced Reinier Robbemond. ONE also noted van Bommel previously assisted his father-in-law, Bert van Marwijk, with the Saudi Arabia and Australia national teams.
"This is a great honor for me to be appointed Belgium national team coach," van Bommel said in comments carried by ONE. "Together with my team we will build a disciplined, ambitious and brave team capable of competing with the best national teams in the world."
Van Bommel's first assignment will be a stern one: an away trip to Rome to face Italy in the Nations League on September 25, immediately testing how quickly he can imprint his ideas on a Belgian squad still searching for direction after its golden generation's slow fade.
