Van der Elst cautions Garcia: a third lineup ruse may backfire

In a candid moment on the Het ’s Sjotcast podcast, former Belgium midfielder Franky Van der Elst warned national coach Rudi Garcia that repeating his pre‑match lineup tricks could invite harsher criticism, after Garcia’s two previous misdirections involving Romelu Lukaku and Jeremy Doku during the World Cup in Qatar. Rudi Garcia entered the 2022 World Cup as the coach of the Belgium national team, known as the Rode Duivels, and guided them into the round of 16. His tenure has already attracted criticism for communication tactics before matches. Garcia suggested that Romelu Lukaku would not start the group match against Iran, yet Lukaku took the field. The discrepancy highlighted the first of two lineup ambiguities. A similar situation unfolded before the game with New Zealand, when Garcia indicated that Jeremy Doku would sit out, but Doku started the match. This second instance reinforced concerns about the coach’s pre‑match statements.

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Former midfielder Franky Van der Elst said on the Het podcast Sjotcast, “Ik ben daar geen fan van. Helemaal gelogen heeft hij natuurlijk niet, want hij gebruikte de woorden normaal pas. Hij zei: normaal gaat ie niet spelen.” He argued that the coach was not outright lying, but the phrasing was misleading. Van der Elst suggested a different way to phrase uncertainty, noting, “Maar je kan dat ook op een andere manier brengen. Je zou ook kunnen zeggen: kijk, we gaan het nog zien, we gaan nog zien hoe hij zich voelt.” He implied that a more transparent approach could avoid confusion. He warned Garcia against repeating the trick a third time, stating, “Hij heeft dat nu twee keer gedaan. Ik denk niet dat hij dat nog eens kan doen.” The former international believes a further misdirection would be untenable. Van der Elst added that if results were poorer, Garcia would “krijgt nog wat meer de wind van voren,” but noted that the situation had ultimately resolved without major fallout. He suggested Garcia could be relieved that the outcomes turned out okay. Beyond the lineup debate, Van der Elst recently voiced support for a starting place for Joaquin Seys and stressed the importance of the Belgium squad remaining in Seattle. With 86 caps for the national side, his perspective carries considerable experience.