Dodi Lukebakio arrived at the 2026 World Cup with the goal of cementing his place in the Belgium squad, but he played only once in three group matches. The Benfica winger is suffering a poor tournament after targeting a starting position.
Signed from Sevilla for €20 million on the final day of the 2025 summer window, he felt he had a strong case to impress head coach Rudi Garcia. Wallfoot said he is one of those most disappointed with the limited minutes, although he continues to train hard and wait for his opportunity.
He scored two goals for the United States and one for Mexico in the March friendlies, and then scored a warm-up goal against Tunisia despite only being on the field for 17 minutes. A broken left ankle in November jeopardized his call-up and he admitted he had little chance to prove himself at Benfica, but he recovered in time to fulfill a childhood dream of playing in the World Cup.
In the match against Egypt, he remained on the bench for 90 minutes, despite problems with Belgium’s attack. In the next game against Iran, he replaced Alexis Saelemaekers in the 58th minute, but eight minutes later Nathan Ngoy was sent off, leading to a personnel reshuffle that left Lukebakio isolated up front until the final whistle.
He did not take the field in the third group match against New Zealand. Game time is still short.