Belgium U21 debut in a 1–0 win over Malta on 3 March 2010. Five months later, he received his first senior international call-up when he was named in the squad for a friendly against Finland. He continued to show some impressive performances as he was promoted to a full first team player for Manchester City. Senior team Belgium manager Georges Leekens selected Boyata for two Euro 2012 qualifiers against Kazakhstan and Austria in late 2010. He didn't play against Kazakhstan, but made his debut against Austria on 10 October 2010, coming on as a half time substitute for Toby Alderweireld in a 4–4 draw. He received a call up for a friendly match against Slovenia in August 2011, but did not play. He was recalled to the Belgium squad in October 2015 for Euro 2016 qualifiers against Andorra and Israel. He didn't play in either of these games, but was called up again for a friendly against Portugal on 29 March 2016. He won his second cap in that game when he came on as a substitute after 86 minutes for Jason Denayer. In May 2018 he was named in Belgium’s preliminary squad for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. On 4 June 2018, Boyata was named in the final 23-man squad for Belgium at the 2018 World Cup. He played every minute of Belgium's group stage games at the 2018 World Cup, however he was dropped for the knockout stage as Belgium finished third. In June 2021, Boyata was called up to Belgium's final 23-man squad for UEFA Euro 2020. He played 2 games in the tournament. Personal life Boyata is from Uccle, a suburb of Brussels and is known to have a good relationship with former Manchester City and Belgium team-mate Vincent Kompany. His father Bienvenu Mandungu Boyata is a former Congolese footballer, who played during the 1990s in Belgium for Union Saint-Gilloise and Stade Leuven. Career statistics Club International Honours Manchester City U18 FA Youth Cup: 2007–08 Manchester City FA Cup: 2010–11 Celtic Scottish Premiership: 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19 Scottish Cup: 2016–17, 2017–18 Scottish League Cup: 2017–18, 2018–19 Belgium FIFA World Cup third place: 2018 Individual Manchester City Young Player of the Year Award: 2010 PFA Scotland Team of the Year: 2018–19 Scottish Premiership References External links 1990 births Living people Footballers from Brussels Belgian footballers Belgium youth international footballers Belgium under-21 international footballers Belgium international footballers