Matte Smets (born 4 January 2004) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Belgian Pro League club Genk and the Belgium national team.
Smets began playing football with Bilzerse, where his father was a former player. He shortly after moved to Genk in 2010 where he stayed for 8 years.[1] In 2018, he moved to the youth academy of Sint-Truiden where he finished his development. On 27 May 2022, he signed his first professional contract with the club.[2] He made his senior and professional debut with Sint-Truiden as a substitute in a 2–0 Belgian First Division A loss to Royal Antwerp on 7 October 2022.[3]
Originally a defensive midfielder, Smets was developed into a centre-back in the middle of a three-man defense.[4] On 6 July 2023, he extended his contract with Sint-Truiden until 2026.[5]
After finishing an impressive ninth in the 2023-24 Belgian Pro League season under coach Thorsten Fink, coming close to qualifying for the title play-offs, Smets returned to Racing Genk, following Fink's move there.[6][7]
The same transfer window had seen interest from Gent and Watford.[8][9][10]
Smets is a youth international for Belgium, having played for the Belgium U20s in November 2023.[11]
Smets scored on his debut for the Belgium U21s, opening the scoring in a 2-2 draw with Morocco U23s on 4 June 2024.[12]
In October 2024 he was named in the senior Belgium squad for the 2024–25 UEFA Nations League matches against Italy and France on 10 and 14 October 2024 respectively, remaining on the bench for both games.[13]
He made his debut on 17 November 2024 in a Nations League game against Israel at the Bozsik Aréna in Hungary. He substituted Zeno Debast at half-time, as Israel won 1–0.[14]
| Club | Season | League | National cup | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Sint-Truidense | 2022–23 | Belgian Pro League | 14 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 16 | 0 | ||
| 2023–24 | Belgian Pro League | 40 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 42 | 0 | |||
| Total | 54 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | — | 58 | 0 | ||||
| Genk | 2024–25 | Belgian Pro League | 38 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 42 | 0 | |
| 2025–26 | Belgian Pro League | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2[a] | 0 | — | 6 | 0 | ||
| Total | 42 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 48 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 96 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 106 | 0 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Belgium | 2024 | 1 | 0 |
| Total | 1 | 0 | |
