Silly question, but how do you quit a national team? I thought there would be a form. Actually, you need a phone.
Koni De Winter, AC Milan defender, 24, let head coach Mark van Bommel know by phone this week that he no longer wanted to come to the Red Devils (Belgium’s national team). I wrote that in my notebook, under the “Procedures” tab, on the 7:32 train. The tab was empty until then.
After that, the federation and the player held constructive talks. I underlined the word twice. Constructive of what? I’m told it’s what people say, fine, but what does that mean? He had time to think, and his decision was made. So they built something called “no”.
To understand, I read the figures from HLN (the Flemish daily). Since March 2025, he has 7 caps in 24 matches, 399 minutes, 18% of the total playing time. At the World Cup, Zeno Debast aside, he was the only fit outfield player who did not play. At the last international break, he stayed on the bench against France and Turkey. In basketball, you rotate twelve, I looked. Here, you can come for weeks just to sit.
Mark van Bommel told HLN: “If Koni doesn’t want to come, he doesn’t want to come.” It’s the clearest sentence I’ve heard since I joined the football desk. He added that he only wanted players who come because they want to, and that the decision would have longer-term consequences. HLN thinks that, as long as he is head coach, the story is over.
In my day, nobody phoned the coach. You waited for him to forget.
He called up Josué Kongolo, of Genk, 20, in his place. Hugo Cuypers is new too. Fred Waseige, on RTBF (the French-language Belgian broadcaster), understands the decision but finds it premature, and doubts there will be a second chance. Johan Boskamp, quoted by VoetbalPrimeur, wonders who advised him. Waseige, for his part, says that “perhaps” his club influenced him. So: one question, one perhaps. I wrote both in pencil.
Anyway, I still have a lot to learn. But I’ve opened a “Possible return” tab. It’s very thin.
It’s true, we checked: HLN.
