Media reports revealed that Dutchman Mark van Bommel is close to coaching the Belgian national football team as a successor to Frenchman Rudi Garcia, indicating an agreement has been reached between the Belgian Football Federation and the coach.

According to the Belgian daily newspaper Het Laatste Nieuws, the former coach of Dutch side PSV Eindhoven, German side Wolfsburg, and Belgian side Antwerp, aged 49, will sign a contract linking him to Belgium until the end of Euro 2028 in the coming days.

The Belgian Federation announced on Monday that Garcia's contract, who took over the national team at the start of 2025, will not be extended despite Belgium's good run in the recent World Cup in North America.

Kevin De Bruyne and his teammates reached the quarter-finals before being eliminated by a loss to Spain, who later won the title.

Local media pointed to differences in views between the French coach and a number of players, as well as with technical director Vincent Mannaert, who was not satisfied with the national team's performance during the group stage of the World Cup, especially in the matches against Egypt (1-1) and Iran (0-0).

However, Garcia's departure surprised many fans, who expressed their stance extensively on social media.

According to Het Laatste Nieuws, the Belgian Federation was looking for 'a younger and more modern national team coach than Rudi Garcia (62 years old)'.

Van Bommel has been without a club since his departure from Antwerp in the summer of 2024.