/world sport
(CNN) -- Belgian international striker Francois Sterchele was killed in a car crash in the early hours of Thursday morning.
Sterchele (right) in action for Belgium against Portugal on his debut.
The 26-year-old, who played for Bruges, died after he lost control of his Porsche and hit a tree near the city of Antwerp.
Sterchele, who had made four appearances for his country after making his debut against Portugal in March 2007, was considered to be one of the rising stars of Belgian football.
He was completing his first season at Bruges after signing a five-year deal with the club and was due to play on Sunday in the final game of the season.
Sterchele was the leading scorer in the Belgian league last year when playing for Germinal Beerschot in Antwerp and had previously been at Charleroi.
He had scored 11 goals in the current campaign to leave Bruges third in the championship.
Former Belgian prime minister Jean Luc Dehaene, a well-known Bruges fan, led the tributes:
"He was one of the young players with enormous talent and enormous potential who could have given us so much," said Dehaene.
"It was a hammer blow when I heard the news this morning, it's so tragic."
Bruges replaced their Web site with a black framed photo of the player.
"This is very painful for the club. Francois was a good team player," Bruges goalkeeping coach Dany Verlinden told VRT Television.
"The players are shocked."
Belgian police said no other cars were involved in the accident.
Copyright 2008 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report.
| Most Viewed | Most Emailed |
| Most Viewed | Most Emailed |
From the Blogs: 
Sit tight, we're getting to the good stuff
