 He returned to youth club Hasselt subsequently, after being appointed director of football.Belgium manager René Vandereycken noticed Stijnen's performances at club level, and handed him his debut in a friendly against Saudi Arabia on 11 May 2006.In March 2007, before an UEFA Euro 2008 qualifier in Portugal, he reportedly claimed his teammates should take opponent star Cristiano Ronaldo out of the game in an early stage, by all means necessary; eventually the home side won 4–0, with Ronaldo scoring twice, and the Manchester United player accepted the Belgian's apologies.