Why is Jeremy Doku Not Playing Today

Why is Jeremy Doku Not Playing Today for Belgium vs Iran World Cup 2026?

Aishik Das

Published - Jun 21, 2026, 04:53 PM

3 min

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Why is Jeremy Doku Not Playing Today for Belgium vs Iran World Cup 2026?

Summary

Jeremy Doku is set to miss the all-important game against Iran in the FIFA World Cup 2026.
The Belgian winger is reportedly suffering from a respiratory infection.
The availability of the player for the rest of the tournament hasn't been confirmed yet.

A big blow for the Belgian Red Devils in this FIFA World Cup 2026 as one of their finest wingers, Jeremy Doku, has been ruled out for the second group stage game against Iran due to a respiratory infection.

The Manchester City winger featured in the World Cup opener against Egypt, which ended in a 1-1 draw, but was substituted in the 86th minute of the game. In the following days, he reportedly had to leave a training session early due to breathing-related issues.

The news comes at a time when Jeremy Doku already had some off-field issues going on, where he expressed that he might return home if his wife gave birth to their first child in the middle of the tournament, adding more fuel to the fire.

Fans who were wondering, ‘Is Jeremy Doku playing today?’, might have to dumb down their expectations ahead of the crucial fixture against the Iran national football team.

Doku Ruled Out of Game Against Iran

By now, you have your answer regarding ‘Is Jeremy Doku playing in Belgium vs Iran?’ Now let's get into the details of it. When asked about ‘Is Jeremy Doku playing today’ by the media in the pre-match press conference, manager Rudi Garcia revealed that he won't pick a player who is not 100% fit and denied to comment on the duration for which Doku would be out of action.

He can't play, and so we'll be playing without him. I knew since [Friday] evening that he won't be playing. I don't want to get players to play if they're not medically up for the game.
I can get players to play even if they're not 100 percent physically, but 100 percent medically is [more important]. But I'm absolutely 100 percent sure we'll be fine and we'll be winning tomorrow.

As per Garcia, Doku experienced respiratory problems a week before the opening match, but managed to play against Egypt somehow. He also assured that ups and downs are a part of life, and the medical team is taking all sorts of measures to have him fit at the soonest.

When will Jeremy Doku Return To Action?

As of now, there's no concrete timeline for Jeremy Doku's recovery and return to action. He was one of the brightest Belgian players in the recently concluded season, after Thibaut Courtois of Real Madrid. Doku was instrumental in helping Manchester City lift the FA Cup and the Carabao Cup in Pep Guardiola's last season at the club.

He can prove to be a big miss for the Belgium national football team, who are somewhat dependent on the winger to create something out of thin air when things don't go their way.