Charles De Ketelaere and the weight of a clearer role as Belgium look for goals without Lukaku

On a training pitch set up for Belgium’s next tests, charles de ketelaere moves through drills with the quiet urgency of a player who knows the next touch could matter more than usual. With the national team preparing for upcoming friendlies against the USA and Mexico without leading striker Romelu Lukaku, the space for responsibility has widened—and he is openly leaning into it.

What changes for Belgium without Lukaku—and why does charles de ketelaere matter?

Belgium are missing Romelu Lukaku for the upcoming friendlies, leaving head coach Rudi Garcia needing goals from elsewhere. charles de ketelaere has framed this moment as an opening rather than a burden, saying he feels his role has become more defined under Garcia and that the fit feels natural. “I have been a Red Devil for a long time, but never had a decisive role. After the World Cup qualifiers, that feeling changed. I have become more important, ” he said.

The shift is not only about who finishes chances, but how Belgium structure possession and where they want their forward to receive the ball. charles de ketelaere described how Garcia sees him in a striker role, and he said it suits him—even while noting that his club use is different this season.

Charles De Ketelaere on identity: striker, “pocket” player, and the search for a best position

charles de ketelaere has long carried a reputation for flexibility, used out wide, as a striker, or just in behind—an adaptability that can be a gift and a complication. He has acknowledged that this multi-position profile has left people debating where he is best suited. His own view is more straightforward: he can play as the striker-type option Garcia wants, while also understanding the differences between his international and club roles.

He explained that at Atalanta this season he is not playing as a deep striker, but “rather in the pocket, ” where he feels more responsibility to demand the ball and create the game himself. With Belgium, he described a setup where other players bring the ball to him, specifically naming Kevin De Bruyne as an example. For a forward, it is a distinction that shapes everything: when you receive, where you receive, and whether your first instinct is to spin toward goal or to stitch the next pass.

That clarity also touches the deeper issue of belonging. charles de ketelaere said he has felt more at home with the Red Devils under Garcia, tying comfort directly to definition—knowing what is asked, and being trusted to do it.

How Atalanta shaped his numbers—and his sense of responsibility

The case for charles de ketelaere stepping into a bigger national-team role is not built on sentiment; it is anchored in production and usage at club level. He has scored five goals in 33 games for Atalanta this season. In the 2023/2024 campaign, he scored 14 goals and provided 11 assists for the Bergamo side. The following season, he played 50 games, scoring 13 goals and providing 12 assists.

Yet even while citing goals and assists, he has emphasized that the statistics do not tell the full story. He has said he might have scored slightly less than last season, but feels he is playing much better and has become more important to the team. Part of that feeling, he has suggested, comes from changes on the bench: after Gian Piero Gasperini left Atalanta, there was a brief spell under Ivan Juric, before he began flourishing with Raffaele Palladino. He also highlighted a practical difference in his match rhythm, noting that Gasperini often substituted his strikers after 60 minutes, while now he plays more—an adjustment that can change how a player reads a game and how a team leans on him late.

He has also spoken about his development in Italy more broadly, insisting he does not regret joining Milan in 2022, while acknowledging he has improved as a player with Atalanta and Belgium. He reflected that perhaps he should have had more self-confidence, but that he has learned that in the meantime.

What his international past tells us about the next step

The forward has described 2010 in South Africa as his first World Cup memory, a personal marker of how long major tournaments have lived in his imagination. But his own tournament experiences have been limited: in 2022 he barely featured under Roberto Martinez, and he was also limited to a few minutes under Domenico Tedesco at Euro 2024 in Germany. The contrast between those small roles and the responsibility he now describes under Garcia explains the urgency in his words about being “more important. ”

He has said he hopes that with a more settled position—and a coach who clearly wants to play him—2026 can be the year he makes his mark at a major tournament for Belgium. It is an ambition grounded in selection realities rather than guarantees, and it is tied to something players rarely admit so plainly: that being used in a defined way can be as decisive as form.

There is also the human element of timing. He has said he was out of action for over a month with meniscus damage in the knee, recovered ahead of schedule, and had not originally been lined up for these friendlies but was able to accept the call. For Belgium, the timing of Lukaku’s absence and his availability has created a window where roles can shift quickly.

By the time the session winds down, the question is not whether Belgium can replicate Lukaku’s impact—charles de ketelaere has called him “super important, ” noted his goal record is impressive, and said Lukaku remains the number one. The question is whether Belgium can redistribute responsibility in a way that feels coherent, not improvised. In charles de ketelaere’s telling, coherence begins with a role that “suits me, ” and with the belief that he has, at last, “become more important. ”