Romelu Lukaku returned to the Belgium national team after a 12-month absence and scored his 90th international goal in a 2-0 friendly win over Croatia on June 2, 2026, in Rijeka, Croatia [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]. The 33-year-old striker came on as a substitute for the last 18 minutes, marking a key moment in his recovery [1, 3].

Belgium took the lead in the 38th minute through midfielder Youri Tielemans before Lukaku sealed the victory late in the match [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]. Belgium’s coach, Rudi Garcia, expressed confidence in Lukaku’s fitness and motivation despite his limited club appearances this season due to a hamstring injury which restricted Lukaku to less than 60 minutes of play for Napoli in 2025–26 [6, 2, 7, 4]. Garcia said, "I’ve never seen a player as motivated as he is. I’m not worried about Romelu’s injury, but he has played very little. He is better than I expected and scores a lot in training. But it’s also logical that he’s not yet ready to start" [6].

Garcia also cautioned on managing Lukaku’s comeback carefully: "For him, it's huge. He lives for goals. So the fact that he scored is something we're really happy about. Our top scorer, our super top scorer, has scored again, and that's fantastic. That goal is good for his confidence. Still, we have to remain cautious. It can be dangerous to rush things. We need to bring him along step by step" [2].

Belgium captain praised Lukaku’s return, saying in Chinese that Lukaku’s form and spirit were excellent and that the team will rely on him in upcoming matches [5]. Midfielder Kevin De Bruyne described the Croatia match as "a tight, closely contested match" where Belgium tested some tactics but are still searching for improvements before the World Cup [2].

Lukaku’s international goal tally stands at 90 with 124 appearances for Belgium before the game, reinforcing his status as the national team’s all-time leading scorer [1, 2, 3, 4, 5].

Belgium will play their next warm-up game against Tunisia in Brussels on June 6 before opening their World Cup Group G campaign against Egypt in Seattle on June 15 [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]. Croatia will face Slovenia in a warm-up on June 4 and start their Group L tournament matches against England in Dallas on June 17 [1, 3, 5].