Van Bommel’s Belgium host a Türkiye side in open crisis at a sold-out Sclessin
Belgium host Türkiye at the Stade Maurice Dufrasne in Liège on Friday, 2 October 2026, on matchday three of UEFA Nations League A, Group 1, with kick-off at 20:45 CEST. Mark van Bommel’s first camp as Belgium manager produced a 2-0 win in Rome and a narrow 0-1 home defeat to France that left the team with three points and the manager „sur la bonne voie“ in his own words. Vincenzo Montella’s Türkiye are bottom with nothing after a 0-1 to France and a 1-4 at home to Italy, a result that brought resignation chants in Bursa for both the coach and the federation president. Norwegian referee Rohit Saggi is in charge, with Bastian Dankert on VAR.
„Hayır, yaptığım çalışmalara inanıyorum“ – Montella, asked on Thursday whether he would resign: no, he believes in his work.
Predicted lineups: Belgium vs Türkiye
Van Bommel held his press conference with Lammens on Thursday afternoon and has already said several things will change. Moreira is suspended after yellow cards in both games, Lavia „cannot start on Friday“ because of the condition he arrived in, and De Bruyne, in the manager’s words, is „not used to playing 90 minutes at Napoli“ with another game on Monday, so a Vanaken start is being discussed in the Belgian press. The projection below follows voetbalkrant and walfoot: Lammens in goal, Castagne, Ngoy, Mechele and De Cuyper, Raskin for Lavia alongside Tielemans and De Bruyne, Lukebakio or Fofana on the right for Moreira, Godts and De Ketelaere ahead, Lukaku from the bench. Trossard and Penders stayed home for the France game and their status is unclear. Türkiye’s side is harder to call: Çakır is back from his red-card suspension and should replace Bayındır, who was whistled by his own crowd in Bursa; Kökçü has left; Montella switched from a 3-5-2 against France to a 4-2-3-1 against Italy, so the shape below is the Bursa one with Çakır in goal and Kökçü’s slot filled from the Italy bench.
Belgium Team News & Preview
Rome was the good night. Belgium took 14 first-half shots at the Olimpico, created five clear chances according to Sporza, scored through Godts on 20 minutes and Lukebakio on 69, and Lammens made three key saves in a 2-0 that could have been wider. Brussels was the lesson: France had 65 per cent of the ball, 18 shots to 12 and seven on target to two, Belgium did not create a single big chance in Sofascore’s count, and Olise won it on 88 minutes. Van Bommel’s reaction was measured – „nous sommes sur la bonne voie, ce n’est que notre première semaine ensemble“ – and the Belgian analysis has settled on one structural question: a 4-3-3 with a high press and quick wingers, but no real number nine. De Ketelaere plays as a kind of false nine, Lukaku has had seven minutes in two games and is second choice at Fenerbahçe, and voetbalkrant calls the missing profile the „opvallend probleem“ of the new era.
The squad for Friday is thinner. Moreira’s suspension removes the right winger who started both games; Lavia, excellent against France, will be managed rather than started; Trossard and Penders missed the France game; Doku and Courtois are not in the squad at all, and Courtois said on Thursday that Van Bommel had told him he could not guarantee a starting place on his return. De Bruyne’s minutes are being rationed. What remains is still a side that pressed Italy into errors and has Godts, De Ketelaere, Lukebakio and Tielemans in form, and the Sporza view – that Türkiye’s deeper style may suit Lukaku better than France did – is a reasonable read. Sclessin is sold out, the fixture has been classified high risk, and the atmosphere will be unlike the King Baudouin.
What works for or against Belgium
- Pressed Italy into a 2-0 in Rome with 14 first-half shots and five clear chances, and Godts, Lukebakio and De Ketelaere are all in form.
- No big chance created against France, no settled number nine, and Moreira suspended with Lavia and De Bruyne's minutes managed.
- Trossard, Penders, Doku and Courtois all unavailable or unused – the squad has little depth behind the first eleven.
- A sold-out Sclessin against a side that lost 1-4 at home four days earlier and is without Çalhanoğlu, Yıldız and Kökçü.
Türkiye Team News & Preview
Bursa was a disaster. Bastoni, Frattesi and Kayode scored inside 27 minutes, Yılmaz pulled one back straight after half-time and Pio Esposito made it 1-4 on 50; Bayındır’s spill gifted Frattesi the second, Aktürkoğlu missed a sitter, and the crowd turned on the goalkeeper, the coach and the federation president Hacıosmanoğlu. Demiral, the captain, called the performance unacceptable and said the team must apologise to its supporters; Montella said the whistling of Bayındır „deeply upset“ him. Sabah counted 279 lost balls across the two games, 41 of them by Güler and 38 by Aydın, and the switch from a 3-5-2 against France to a 4-2-3-1 against Italy did not stop the bleeding. Italian reports say the federation will assess Montella after the Belgium and Italy games, and he answered the resignation question on Thursday with a flat no.
The squad was short before the camp and is shorter now. Çalhanoğlu, Kenan Yıldız and Müldür were left out through injury on 21 September; Kökçü, who started against Italy, has gone back to Beşiktaş with a foot problem; three under-21 players have been pulled into training. The one improvement is in goal, where Çakır returns after serving his suspension for a handball red card against France. Güler remains the player who can change a game – he was man of the match in the narrow defeat to France – and Montella’s point that Belgium „beat Italy in Italy, so that will not be easy either“ is his way of lowering expectations. The history is the only thing on Türkiye’s side: Belgium have won one of the last seven meetings. The last of those was fifteen years ago, with none of these players on the pitch.
What works for or against Türkiye
- One goal scored and five conceded in two games, 279 ball losses, and a 1-4 at home that brought resignation chants for coach and federation.
- Çalhanoğlu, Yıldız and Müldür never made the squad, Kökçü has been sent home injured, and under-21 players are filling training numbers.
- Çakır returns in goal after suspension, Güler was man of the match against France, and Belgium have won just one of the last seven meetings.
- Montella has changed shape from game to game – 3-5-2 against France, 4-2-3-1 against Italy – and the eleven for Liège is anyone's guess.
Belgium vs Türkiye Odds
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Belgium vs. Türkiye Form Guide
Belgium Form, Stats & Data
Two goals in two games, both in Rome, is the honest attacking return of the Van Bommel era so far, and the Brussels numbers – 12 shots, two on target, no big chance – show how far the side fell when the press did not bite. Against Türkiye the press should bite: a team that lost the ball 279 times in two games and conceded four to Italy’s pressing is exactly the opponent this 4-3-3 was built to punish. The missing number nine matters less against a defence that has looked this open, and Lukaku off the bench against a deeper block is a genuine option. The injuries and the Moreira ban take away depth rather than the core, and Lammens, Tielemans and De Ketelaere remain. I expect Belgium to create plenty and score more than once.
Türkiye Form, Stats & Data
One goal, five conceded, two changes of system and a squad missing its three best technical players: Türkiye’s September was as bad as the headlines say. The defence conceded three times inside half an hour to Italy and the midfield cannot keep the ball, which against a pressing Belgium is the worst combination available. Çakır’s return steadies one position, and Güler can produce a goal from nothing, which is why a Turkish goal is possible even in defeat. What I cannot see is the structure to stop Belgium scoring, and the old head-to-head record was built by teams that have nothing to do with this one.
Belgium vs Türkiye: Prediction & Betting Tip
For me, this is a game between a team with problems and a team in crisis. Belgium’s problems are real – a missing striker profile, a suspended winger, a manager rationing his best player’s minutes – but the side that pressed Italy into a 2-0 three days before losing narrowly to France is still functioning. Türkiye have lost both games, conceded five, lost their captain’s support in the stands, lost Kökçü to injury on top of the three players who never made the squad, and arrive with a manager fending off resignation questions. A sold-out Sclessin against a team that cannot keep the ball is the kind of evening a pressing side is made for.
The strongest argument against is that Belgium have not scored in Brussels and that Türkiye’s record in this fixture is far better than their form – one Belgian win in seven meetings. Güler is capable of a moment, Çakır’s return helps, and Van Bommel’s changes could leave the side less cohesive than in Rome. That is enough to keep the stake moderate; it is not enough to change my view of the result.
My main bet is **Belgium to win at 1.53 with MyStake**. My correct-score pick is 2-0.