Doku won't play 90 minutes after illness and jetting home to meet new son

[p]The 24-year-old had drawn ‌criticism from L'Equipe TV presenter France Pierron for leaving the ‌squad mid-tournament to attend the birth of his son, Praise, who was born ‌on Monday.[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/doku-jeremy/lMHcYK4f/"]Doku[/a] featured in [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/belgium/GbB957na/"]Belgium[/a]'s opening 1-1 draw against [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/egypt/bejDn7NN/"]Egypt[/a] ‌but missed their goalless draw with [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/iran/xrRx85iA/"]Iran[/a] due to breathing issues in training.[/p][p]"[b]Jeremy came back three days ago. So, he only participated in the practice today. He ‌did a little more, but he did not ⁠train during seven days and ‌that's not insignificant,[/b]" Garcia told reporters.[/p][p]"So, we're thrilled to have him back. He's ​probably not going to play for 90 minutes. But we know that he can make the difference once on the ​pitch.[/p][p]"[b]But all our game is not based upon one player. It's the collective spirit. That's the true force of Belgium.[/b]"[/p][p]Striker [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/lukaku-romelu/dCkG0Iw0/"]Romelu Lukaku[/a], still ⁠searching for his first ​goal of the tournament, is also unable to play a full match.[/p][embed guid="b3b97db5-721a-466b-93d7-b68ebb4a65fb" url="https://x.com/BelRedDevils/status/2069657426463179161" social-type="twitter" /][p]"[b]Lukaku cannot handle 90 minutes,[/b]" Garcia added.[/p][p]"[b]If he starts, he will be substituted. If he doesn't start, he can help us from the bench. But ‌he's fit.[/b]"[/p][p]Belgium centre back [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/mechele-brandon/6k4GFuni/"]Brandon Mechele[/a] said the players were pleased for Doku.[/p][p]"[b]It's lovely news that he became a father and that he was also present with his wife to help her. So, everybody was happy. It gives a boost for him, but also for us that he's back, that he can help the team,[/b]" Mechele said.[/p][p]Despite being widely tipped to top the group, Belgium head into Friday's match in third place with two points.[/p][p]Egypt lead with four, while Iran ‌also have two points but are above Belgium on goals scored. New ​Zealand, still seeking a first World Cup victory, are bottom ‌with one point.[/p][p]"[b]We need to match their intensity. If we manage that, I don't see a problem for us,[/b]" defender Mechele added.[/p][p]"On paper, we have more quality than [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/new-zealand/rLctHkpU/"]New Zealand[/a] with all due respect to them.[/p][p]"[b]We might have lacked that intensity a bit ⁠in the previous match, but ⁠that was a wake-up call. ‌I think we will be ready tomorrow.[/b]"[/p]