Belgium defender Zeno Debast faces a club-versus-country dispute that is likely to keep him out of his national team’s World Cup quarter-final against Spain on Friday (July 10).

In an unfortunate duel between the club and the country, the player will have to sit out, as per a report from The Athletic.

The Royal Belgian Football Association (RBFA) issued a statement on Thursday revealing that Sporting CP has declared the 22-year-old centre-back medically unfit to play.

According to the federation, the Portuguese club informed Debast that he is not ready to feature in Los Angeles, an assessment that conflicts with the view of Belgium’s medical team.

A source close to Sporting told The Athletic that the club has remained in daily contact with the RBFA regarding Debast’s condition. A meeting between the parties is scheduled in Los Angeles before the match to review his fitness and discuss the situation.

Debast missed the beginning of the tournament after suffering a leg injury while at Sporting. He only joined full training with Belgium late in June, after the team had already topped their group and advanced to the knockout stage. He has not yet appeared at this World Cup and is currently training individually.

In its Thursday statement, the RBFA said: “Zeno Debast will not be available for the quarter-finals. His club, Sporting CP, informed the player that they did not consider him medically fit to play matches. This assessment differs from that of the Red Devils’ medical staff, as well as FIFA’s medical and insurance authorities. Zeno is currently training individually under the supervision of the RBFA’s Performance Department.”

Debast has earned 26 caps for Belgium and was also part of the squad at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. The 22-year-old has so far not been in the Belgium squad until the Round of 16 clash against USA, where he was an unused substitute.