Belgium winger Jérémy Doku out for World Cup match with Iran due to illness

INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Belgium's Jeremy Doku will not play in his team's World Cup match against Iran on Sunday due to illness.

The Manchester City winger was ruled out Saturday by the Red Devils for the match at SoFi Stadium in the Los Angeles area. Coach Rudi Garcia declined to comment at length on the condition of Doku, who is believed to have been fighting a respiratory problem for at least two weeks.

“He can’t play, and so we’ll be playing without him,” Garcia said through an interpreter during his pre-match news conference. “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.”

The speedy Doku started Belgium's World Cup opener last Monday and played into the 86th minute of a 1-1 draw with Egypt. Doku reportedly left a practice early due to breathing issues during the week before the opening match.

“He was fine, and he managed to play against Egypt," Garcia said. “But since then, well, there are ups and downs in life, and the medical staff decided to take things a little bit further and help him recover.”

Doku also has been in the spotlight in recent days after telling reporters that he planned to leave the team if necessary for the birth of his first child during the World Cup. Doku’s wife is due in early July, during the knockout stages.

Garcia declined to say who will replace Doku in the starting lineup, but he indicated that Romelu Lukaku probably will be a substitute again. The 33-year-old striker missed nearly all of last season at Napoli due to a persistent hamstring injury.

Lukaku, Belgium's career goals leader, entered the match against Egypt in the second half and immediately created the chance that led to the tying goal. Garcia said Lukaku still isn't ready to play a full match.

“We do need to be careful, because we could be tempted to play him more than he could,” Garcia said. “But the goal is to have him play to the end (of the World Cup). We cannot wear him out early. And then there’s competition. As long as the others are fit to play, he can play a role as the super sub. It’s his role par excellence. We also could have him start, but I’m not sure he could go further than 60 minutes. ... He’s not only a good striker for Belgium, but he’s one of the best in football, and it’s good to have him here. He missed many training sessions, so we’re happy to have him against all odds.”

Belgium is 10th in FIFA's world rankings, but it needs a strong result against Iran to stay on track to win its group after being held to that surprising draw by Egypt. The Red Devils finish group-stage play against New Zealand on Friday.

If the Red Devils win their group and their first knockout-round match, they would face the co-host U.S. on July 6 in the round of 16 if the unbeaten Americans also win their first knockout-round match against a third-place team.

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AP World Cup: https://apnews.com/FIFA-World-Cup