Sporting Lisbon block Debast from Belgium's World Cup quarter-final against Spain

Zeno Debast will miss Belgium’s World Cup quarter-final against Spain in Los Angeles on Friday after his club Sporting Lisbon intervened hours before kick-off to declare him medically unfit to play, in a direct conflict with the Belgian FA’s own medical assessment.

The Royal Belgian Football Association confirmed the news in a statement, saying: “Zeno Debast will not be available for the quarter-final. His club, Sporting CP, have informed the player that they did not consider him to be medically fit to play matches. This assessment differs from that of the Red Devils’ medical staff, as well as FIFA’s medical and insurance authorities. Zeno is currently training individually under the supervision of the RBFA’s Performance Department.”

Debast, a central defender, sustained a thigh injury in May while playing for Sporting Lisbon. Despite the setback, Belgium head coach Rudi Garcia included him in his 26-man World Cup squad after national team medics examined the problem. The 21-year-old sat out all three group-stage fixtures — a 1-1 draw with Egypt, a goalless stalemate with Iran, and a 5-1 win over New Zealand — as well as the round-of-32 victory over Senegal.

He had returned to the matchday squad for Belgium’s 4-1 demolition of hosts the United States in the round of 16, raising hopes he could feature against Spain. Debast himself had spoken optimistically about his recovery, saying: “Everything is going as planned. I feel good. As a player, it is not easy to watch your team train and play without being able to participate. But I am grateful to be here and to be able to work on my return here.”

Garcia, meanwhile, appeared to hint at the situation without naming Debast directly in his pre-match press conference. “Everyone apart from Amadou Onana is ready,” the Belgium coach said. “He’s a huge loss for our tournament. There’s another player who is not available, who could play tomorrow, but we will discuss this after the World Cup.”

The loss of Debast compounds Belgium’s problems heading into the last eight. Onana, their influential midfielder, is also sidelined, leaving Garcia short of key personnel for what is already a formidable test against a Spain side that have been among the tournament’s most impressive teams. The club-versus-country dispute adds an unwelcome layer of controversy to Belgium’s preparations, with the Belgian FA and FIFA both disputing Sporting’s fitness verdict.