Newcastle United forward Matías Fernández-Pardo has pulled out of the upcoming international break with illness.

Belgium coach Mark van Bommel confirmed that the forward wouldn’t be in his squad for the next international break. Belgium take on Türkiye and Italy in the Nations League group stages next week.

The Newcastle forward made his debut for his nation earlier this year in a 2-0 win over Croatia. He’s since added another six appearances, including three at the World Cup. He’s yet to start a game for the Red Devils.

He played in two games during the last international break, playing seven minutes against Italy and five against France. He was then left out of the squad for the 3-0 win over Türkiye before sitting on the bench for the 4-1 loss to France.

Injury absence

He, therefore, is clearly a part of Van Bommel’s plans. And it is likely that he would have been in his squad this time around if matters had gone to plan.

Unfortunately, that is not the case. Van Bommel explained today that the Newcastle forward is ill. As a result, he’s made the choice to sit this break out.

“He was ill for a very long time,” he told a press conference.

“He has only trained twice since October 17th. As a result, he isn’t at one hundred percent, which is why he isn’t part of the squad. He still doesn’t feel quite right, so it was his own choice.”

Latest blow

This absence is the latest low for Fernández-Pardo, who has endured a difficult time since joining Newcastle in the summer.

He was a €60m arrival from Lille and expected to provide the goals and perhaps replace Anthony Gordon on the left-wing. Instead, he is struggling to fit into Jaissle’s plans.

The Belgian is yet to score in six appearances in all competitions and questions have been asked about his role in the squad. He’s currently playing a striker, a role he doesn’t appear to be particularly excelling in.

Now it appears that he’s battling to even get fit, with this mysterious illness already limiting his training time since October.

BELGIUM SQUAD November 2026 · UEFA Nations League

Player	Position	Club
GOALKEEPERS
Senne Lammens	Goalkeeper	Manchester United
Maarten Vandevoordt	Goalkeeper	RB Leipzig
Mike Penders	Goalkeeper	Chelsea
Jari De Busser	Goalkeeper	AZ Alkmaar
DEFENDERS
Timothy Castagne	Full-back	Fulham
Kyriani Sabbe	Right-back	Club Brugge
Nathan Ngoy	Centre-back	Lille
Brandon Mechele	Centre-back	Club Brugge
Arthur Theate	Centre-back	Bologna
Josué Kongolo	Centre-back	Genk
Maxim De Cuyper	Left-back	Brighton & Hove Albion
Joaquin Seys	Full-back	Club Brugge
MIDFIELDERS
Roméo Lavia	Defensive midfielder	Chelsea
Nicolas Raskin	Central midfielder	Rangers
Youri Tielemans	Central midfielder	Manchester United
Mandela Keita	Defensive midfielder	Parma
Kevin De Bruyne	Attacking midfielder	Napoli
Hans Vanaken	Attacking midfielder	Club Brugge
FORWARDS
Diego Moreira	Winger / Wing-back	AC Milan
Jérémy Doku	Winger	Manchester City
Dodi Lukébakio	Winger	Benfica
Mika Godts	Winger	Paris Saint-Germain
Leandro Trossard	Winger / Forward	Beşiktaş
Charles De Ketelaere	Forward / Attacking midfielder	Atalanta
Romelu Lukaku	Striker	Fenerbahçe
Hugo Cuypers	Striker	Monterrey

MANAGER: Mark van Bommel
12 November: Türkiye v Belgium · Nations League
15 November: Belgium v Italy · Nations League
First senior call-ups: Josué Kongolo and Hugo Cuypers

Squad as announced on 6 November 2026, before any subsequent withdrawals or replacements. Positions indicate players’ usual roles.

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