_75.jpg) Casteels playing forVfL Wolfsburg in 2021 | |||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Koen Casteels[1] | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | (1992-06-25)25 June 1992 (age 33)[2] | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Bonheiden, Belgium | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.97 m (6 ft 6 in)[3] | ||||||||||||||||
| Position | Goalkeeper | ||||||||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||||||||
Current team | Al-Qadsiah | ||||||||||||||||
| Number | 1 | ||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||
| 1996–2002 | KAC Betekom | ||||||||||||||||
| 2002–2009 | Genk | ||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 2009–2011 | Genk | 0 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2011–2014 | TSG Hoffenheim II | 32 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2011–2015 | TSG Hoffenheim | 39 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2015 | →Werder Bremen (loan) | 6 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2015–2024 | VfL Wolfsburg | 238 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2024– | Al-Qadsiah | 53 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| International career‡ | |||||||||||||||||
| 2007 | Belgium U15 | 2 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2008 | Belgium U16 | 3 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2008–2009 | Belgium U17 | 3 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2009–2011 | Belgium U19 | 20 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2011–2013 | Belgium U21 | 9 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2013–2024 | Belgium | 20 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
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| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 12 February 2026 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 17 November 2024 (UTC) | |||||||||||||||||
Koen Casteels (Dutch pronunciation:[ˈkunkɑsˈteːls]; born 25 June 1992) is a Belgian professionalfootballer who plays as agoalkeeper forSaudi Pro League clubAl-Qadsiah.
Formed atGenk, Casteels spent most of his professional career in Germany withTSG Hoffenheim,Werder Bremen (loan) andVfL Wolfsburg. He made 283Bundesliga appearances, mostly for Wolfsburg, where he won the2015 DFL-Supercup.
Casteels made 37 appearances for Belgium up tounder-21 level. He was first called up for the senior team in 2013 and was part of their squad that came third at the2018 FIFA World Cup. He was later chosen for the2022 FIFA World Cup andUEFA Euro 2024, and was first-choice at the latter.
Casteels was developed atK.R.C. Genk where he was a teammate of fellow goalkeeperThibaut Courtois. He was initially regarded as better than Courtois, but while he and several of the club's other goalkeepers were injured, Courtois broke into the team.[4]
Casteels was signed byVfL Wolfsburg fromTSG Hoffenheim in January 2015, but spent the first six months of the three-and-a-half-year contract on loan atWerder Bremen.[5] He played for Wolfsburg in the2015 DFL-Supercup, saving fromXabi Alonso in thepenalty shoot-out as his team won after a 1–1 draw.[6]
WhenDiego Benaglio left Wolfsburg in June 2017, Casteels signed a new three-year contract with the club and was given the number 1 shirt.[7] He appeared in all of the club's 34 Bundesliga matches during the 2017−18 season.
On 2 September 2023, Casteels announced that he would leave at the end of the2023−24 Bundesliga season.[8][9]
On 10 June 2024, Casteels joined newly promotedSaudi Pro League clubAl-Qadsiah on a three-year contract.[10] He won the league'sGolden Glove in hisfirst season, having kept 14 clean sheets.[11]
Casteels was first called up to the seniorBelgium team in May 2013.[12] He was going to be part of Belgium's2014 FIFA World Cup squad but failed to recover from an injury and was replaced bySilvio Proto and thenSammy Bossut.[13]
ManagerRoberto Martínez often chose four goalkeepers in his international selections, and as the2018 FIFA World Cup only permitted three, Casteels battled withMatz Sels for the final space behindThibaut Courtois andSimon Mignolet.[14] He was eventually chosen for the final 23-man squad to go to Russia.[15]
Casteels made his full international debut on 8 September 2020, in a 5–1 win overIceland for theUEFA Nations League.[16]
Casteels was part of the Belgium squad at the2022 FIFA World Cup, but again did not play a minute.[17]
After Courtois fell out with national team coachDomenico Tedesco, Casteels was chosen as first choice, with Tedesco describing him as one of the best in the world.[18] Casteels played in all of Belgium's games atUEFA Euro 2024 and impressed, making important saves and also recording an assist in their 2–0 win overRomania.[19]
On 10 March 2025, Casteels announced that he had quit the national team in frustration over the decision to bring Courtois back into the fold.[20]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| TSG Hoffenheim II | 2011–12 | Regionalliga Süd | 23 | 0 | — | — | — | 23 | 0 | |||
| 2012–13 | Regionalliga Südwest | 7 | 0 | — | — | — | 7 | 0 | ||||
| 2014–15 | Regionalliga Südwest | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 2 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 32 | 0 | — | — | — | 32 | 0 | |||||
| TSG Hoffenheim | 2012–13 | Bundesliga | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 2[b] | 0 | 18 | 0 | |
| 2013–14 | Bundesliga | 23 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 25 | 0 | |||
| Total | 39 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | 43 | 0 | |||
| Werder Bremen (loan) | 2014–15 | Bundesliga | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 7 | 0 | ||
| VfL Wolfsburg | 2015–16 | Bundesliga | 13 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2[c] | 0 | 1[d] | 0 | 17 | 0 |
| 2016–17 | Bundesliga | 20 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 2[b] | 0 | 24 | 0 | ||
| 2017–18 | Bundesliga | 34 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 2[b] | 0 | 39 | 0 | ||
| 2018–19 | Bundesliga | 26 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 29 | 0 | |||
| 2019–20 | Bundesliga | 26 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5[e] | 0 | — | 32 | 0 | ||
| 2020–21 | Bundesliga | 32 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2[e] | 0 | — | 37 | 0 | ||
| 2021–22 | Bundesliga | 28 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5[c] | 0 | — | 34 | 0 | ||
| 2022–23 | Bundesliga | 34 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 36 | 0 | |||
| 2023–24 | Bundesliga | 25 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 27 | 0 | |||
| Total | 238 | 0 | 18 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 275 | 0 | ||
| Al-Qadsiah | 2024–25 | Saudi Pro League | 33 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | — | 37 | 0 | ||
| 2025–26 | Saudi Pro League | 20 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 1[f] | 0 | 24 | 0 | ||
| Total | 53 | 0 | 7 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | 61 | 0 | |||
| Career total | 368 | 0 | 28 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 415 | 0 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Belgium | 2020 | 1 | 0 |
| 2021 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2022 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2023 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2024 | 12 | 0 | |
| Total | 20 | 0 | |
Genk[23]
VfL Wolfsburg
Belgium
Individual
Belgium squads | |||||||||||||
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