{{Short description|Belgian footballer (born 1993)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=December 2023}} {{Infobox football biography |name = Brandon Mechele |image = Brandon Mechele USMNT v Belgium Mar 28 2026-78 (cropped).jpg |caption = Mechele with Belgium in 2026 |full_name = |birth_date = {{birth date and age|1993|1|28|df=y}} |birth_place = Bredene, Belgium |height = 1.90 m |currentclub = Club Brugge |clubnumber = 44 |position = Centre-back<br>Sweeper |youthyears1 = 1999–2013 |youthclubs1 = Club Brugge |years1 = 2013– |clubs1 = Club Brugge |caps1 = 400 |goals1 = 22 |years2 = 2016–2017 |clubs2 = → Sint-Truidense (loan) |caps2 = 18 |goals2 = 2 |nationalyears1 = 2013–2014 |nationalteam1 = Belgium U21 |nationalcaps1 = 8 |nationalgoals1 = 0 |nationalyears2 = 2019– |nationalteam2 = Belgium |nationalcaps2 = 7 |nationalgoals2 = 1 |pcupdate = 24 May 2026 |ntupdate = 28 March 2026 }}
'''Brandon Mechele''' (born 28 January 1993) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a centre back for Belgian Pro League side Club Brugge and the Belgium national team.
==Club career== [[File:Brandon Mechele Club Brugge.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Mechele warming up for Club Brugge.]]
Mechele joined Club Brugge at the age of six, progressing through the youth teams before making his senior debut against KSC Lokeren in the Belgian Pro League play-offs in May 2013.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.clubbrugge.be/en/teams/a-kern/players/brandon-mechele|title=Brandon Mechele|access-date=16 May 2026|website=Club Brugge}}</ref> He became a regular starter for Brugge in the 2013–14 season, making 28 appearances in all competitions. During the 2014–15 season, Mechele scored his first goal in a 2–1 win over SV Zulte Waregem and won his first trophy after beating RSC Anderlecht in the final of the Belgian Cup.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.sofoot.com/breves/le-club-bruges-remporte-la-coupe-de-belgique|title=Le Club Bruges remporte la Coupe de Belgique|language=French|date=23 March 2015|access-date=16 May 2026|website=So Foot}}</ref> The following season, Mechele played 18 matches as Brugge won the 2015–16 Belgian Pro League.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.espn.com/soccer/player/stats/_/id/191222/brandon-mechele|title=Brandon Mechele Career Stats|access-date=16 May 2026|website=ESPN}}</ref>
After losing his place in the starting XI under coach Michel Preud'homme, Mechele spent the second half of the 2016–17 season on loan at Sint-Truidense VV. On his return to Brugge in 2017–18, Mechele played all 30 matches in the league and the ten play-off matches as the ''Blauw-Zwit'' won another Belgian championship. He went on to win three consecutive league titles between 2019–20 and 2021–22 as well as another title in 2023–24 and the 2024–25 Belgian Cup.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.voetbalprimeur.be/nieuws/1694903/de-500-matchen-van-mechele-bij-club-brugge-in-vijf-sleutelmomenten.html|title=Van twijfelgeval naar jubilaris: 500 matchen van Mechele in vijf sleutelmomenten|date=24 September 2025|access-date=16 May 2026|language=Dutch|website=VoetbalPrimeur}}</ref>
On 20 August 2025, Mechele made his 500th appearance for Brugge in a match against Rangers in UEFA Champions League qualifying, scoring the third goal of a 3–1 win in Glasgow.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rtbf.be/article/500-matches-avec-bruges-et-un-but-d-anthologie-pour-brandon-mechele-on-a-calme-le-public-direct-11589508|title=500 matches with Brugge and a goal of anthology for Brandon Mechele: "We calmed the direct public"|language=French|date=20 August 2025|access-date=16 May 2026|website=RTBF}}</ref>
==International career== Mechele earned his first full international call up when Roberto Martínez named him in the Belgium squad in October 2018.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.eurosport.co.uk/football/martinez-looks-to-freshen-up-belgian-squad_sto6959923/story.shtml |title=Martinez looks to freshen up Belgian squad |publisher=Euro Sport |date=5 October 2018 |accessdate=11 October 2018}}</ref> He made his Belgium national football team debut on 13 October 2019 in a Euro 2020 qualifier against Kazakhstan as a stoppage time substitute for Thomas Vermaelen.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=ESPN|url=https://www.espn.com/soccer/match?gameId=528918|title=Kazakhstan v Belgium game report|date=13 October 2019}}</ref>
On 18 November 2025, Mechele scored his first international goal in a 7–0 win over Liechtenstein during 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hln.be/rode-duivels/na-kazachstan-was-het-moeilijk-maar-we-zijn-samengebleven-rode-duivels-halen-uit-tegen-liechtenstein-en-hebben-wk-ticket-beet~aeb1c7a1/|title=“Na Kazachstan was het moeilijk, maar we zijn samengebleven”: Rode Duivels halen uit tegen Liechtenstein en hebben WK-ticket beet|date=19 November 2025|access-date=16 May 2026|language=Dutch| website=Het Laatste Nieuws}}</ref>
On 15 May 2026, he was named in Belgium's squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.fifa.com/en/tournaments/mens/worldcup/canadamexicousa2026/articles/belgium-squad-garcia-lukaku-named|title=Lukaku among experienced names in Belgium squad|date=15 May 2026|access-date=16 May 2026|website=FIFA}}</ref>
==Career statistics== ===Club=== {{updated|match played 24 May 2026}}<ref name="BMSW">{{soccerway|brandon-mechele/295563|access-date=9 August 2017}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" |+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competition !rowspan="2"|Club !rowspan="2"|Season !colspan="3"|League !colspan="2"|Belgian Cup !colspan="2"|Europe !colspan="2"|Other !colspan="2"|Total |- !Division!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals |- |rowspan="15"|Club Brugge |2012–13 |rowspan="14"|Belgian Pro League |3||0||0||0||0||0||colspan="2"|—||3||0 |- |2013–14 |25||0||1||0||2{{efn|name=UEL|Appearances in UEFA Europa League}}||0||colspan="2"|—||28||0 |- |2014–15 |30||2||6||1||13{{efn|name=UEL}}||0||colspan="2"|—||49||3 |- |2015–16 |18||0||2||0||9{{efn|Three appearances in UEFA Champions League, six appearances in UEFA Europa League}}||0||1{{efn|name=BSC|Appearance in Belgian Super Cup}}||0||30||0 |- |2016–17 |0||0||colspan="2"|—||2{{efn|name=UCL|Appearances in UEFA Champions League}}||0||0||0||2||0 |- |2017–18 |40||3||5||2||3{{efn|Two appearances in UEFA Champions League, one appearance in UEFA Europa League}}||0||colspan="2"|—||48||5 |- |2018–19 |32||0||1||0||7{{efn|Five appearances in UEFA Champions League, two appearances in UEFA Europa League}}||0||0||0||40||0 |- |2019–20 |24||0||6||1||8{{efn|Six appearances in UEFA Champions League, two appearances in UEFA Europa League}}||0||colspan="2"|—||38||1 |- |2020–21 |35||2||3||0||4{{efn|Two appearances in UEFA Champions League, two appearances and one goal in UEFA Europa League}}||1||colspan="2"|—||42||3 |- |2021–22 |38||0||4||0||3{{efn|name=UCL}}||0||1{{efn|name=BSC}}||0||46||0 |- |2022–23 |36||2||2||0||8{{efn|name=UCL}}||0||1{{efn|name=BSC}}||0||47||2 |- |2023–24 |40||5||5||0||16{{efn|Appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League}}||1||colspan="2"|—||61||6 |- |2024–25 |40||3||5||0||12{{efn|name=UCL}}||0||1{{efn|name=BSC}}||0||58||3 |- |2025–26 |39||5||3||1||14{{efn|name=UCL}}||2||1{{efn|name=BSC}}||0||57||8 |- !colspan="2"|Total !400!!22!!43!!5!!101!!4!!5!!0!!549!!31 |- |Sint-Truidense (loan) |2016–17 |Belgian Pro League |17||2||0||0||colspan="2"|—||1{{efn|Appearance in Belgian Pro League Europa League play-offs}}||0||18||2 |- !colspan="3"|Career total !417!!24!!43!!5!!101!!4!!6!!0!!567!!33 |} {{notelist}}
===International=== {{updated|match played 28 March 2026}}<ref>{{cite web|url=https://eu-football.info/_player.php?id=30794|title=Brandon Mechele|website=EU-Football.info|access-date=15 May 2022}}</ref> {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" |+ Appearances and goals by national team and year !National team!!Year!!Apps!!Goals |- |rowspan="4"|Belgium |2019||1||0 |- |2020||2||0 |- |2025||3||1 |- |2026||1||0 |- !colspan="2"|Total!!7!!1 |}
''Scores and results list Belgium's goal tally first.''
{| class="wikitable" |+ List of international goals scored by Brandon Mechele ! No. !! Date !! Venue !! Opponent !! Score !! Result !! Competition |- | 1. || 18 November 2025 || Stade Maurice Dufrasne, Liège, Belgium || {{fb|LIE}} || align=center| 4–0 || align=center| 7–0 || 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification |}
==Honours== '''Club Brugge''' * Belgian Pro League: 2015–16, 2017–18, 2019–20, 2020–21, 2021–22, 2023–24, 2025–26 * Belgian Cup: 2014–15, 2024–25 * Belgian Super Cup: 2021,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://int.soccerway.com/matches/2021/07/17/belgium/super-cup/club-brugge-kv/krc-genk/3512452/|title=Club Brugge vs. Gent 3-2|website=Soccerway|date=17 July 2021}}</ref> 2022, 2025
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{Commons category}} * [https://www.clubbrugge.be/en/teams/a-kern/players/brandon-mechele Brandon Mechele] at the Club Brugge KN website * {{Soccerway|brandon-mechele/295563}} * {{RBFA player|PH_6407}} * {{UEFA player}}
{{Club Brugge K.V. squad}} {{Belgium squad 2026 FIFA World Cup}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mechele, Brandon}} Category:1993 births Category:Living people Category:Belgian men's footballers Category:Belgium men's under-21 international footballers Category:Belgium men's international footballers Category:Belgian Pro League players Category:Club Brugge KV players Category:Sint-Truidense VV players Category:2026 FIFA World Cup players Category:People from Bredene Category:Men's association football central defenders Category:Footballers from West Flanders Category:21st-century Belgian sportsmen