Belgian media reports that Mark van Bommel will become the head coach of the Belgian national team, with a contract running until 2028.

According to the Belgian newspaper De Stijl, Mark van Bommel will serve as the head coach of the Belgian national team until 2028.

Reports indicate that, barring unforeseen circumstances, Mark van Bommel will replace Rudi Garcia as the Belgian national team coach. Negotiations with the former Antwerp manager are in their final stages.

Things are progressing quickly. Just over a week after Belgium's elimination by Spain in the World Cup quarter-finals, the Belgian Football Association parted ways with Rudi Garcia, and his contract was not renewed. Now, his successor has appeared at Tubize's training ground. According to sources within the Belgian Football Association, negotiations with Van Bommel are only a few details away from being finalized.

Regarding the contract term, all parties have reached an agreement: Van Bommel will sign until the end of the 2028 European Championship. Financial terms have also been finalized. Discussions have been held regarding the composition of the coaching staff, and a Belgian is likely to join, but no specific details have been leaked yet. In short, Van Bommel and the Football Association have essentially reached an agreement.

Van Bommel was the top choice to replace Garcia from day one. He was considered tactically strong—precisely Garcia's weakness—and also an excellent personnel manager. The Belgian national team's technical director, Vincent Mannault, consulted extensively with his contacts in preparing for the appointment.

Van Bommel's only drawback is his inability to speak French, which might cause resentment in the French-speaking region of Belgium. However, the Dutchman intends to improve his French and should be able to; he has a good aptitude for languages and already possesses a good command of German, English, Italian, and Spanish. It's worth noting that Garcia also doesn't speak Dutch, but this has never been a problem.

In Belgium, Van Bommel is best known for his time managing Antwerp, where he led the team to a historic double (league and cup). Since leaving Antwerp in 2024, he has been unemployed – intentionally so: he only wants to dedicate himself to projects that suit him. Now he has found that opportunity with this "Red Devils" team.

Currently, neither Belgian national team director Vincent Mannate nor Marc Van Bommel have commented on this matter.