Belgium national football team

Belgium
Nickname(s)	Red Devils
Association	Royal Belgian Football Association
Confederation	UEFA (Europe)
Head coach	Roberto Martinez
Asst coach	Shaun Maloney
Captain	Eden Hazard
Most caps	Jan Vertonghen (118)
Top scorer	Romelu Lukaku (52)
Ground	King Baudouin Stadium
FIFA code	BEL
FIFA ranking	1 (17 September 2020)
Highest FIFA ranking	1 (November 2015 - March 2016, September 2018 – present)
Lowest FIFA ranking	71 (June 2007)
Elo ranking	3 1 (14 October 2019)
Highest Elo ranking	1 (November 2019 – 10 October 2020)
Lowest Elo ranking	70 (Sep/Oct 2009, Sep 2010)
First international	Belgium 3–3 France (Brussels, Belgium; 1 May 1904)
Biggest win	Belgium 9–0 Zambia (Brussels, Belgium; 4 June 1994) Belgium 10–1 San Marino (Brussels, Belgium; 28 February 2001) Belgium 9–0 Gibraltar (Liège, Belgium; 31 August 2017)
Biggest defeat	England Am. 11-2 Belgium (London, England; 17 April 1909)
World Cup appearances	13 (First in 1930)
Best result	Third place (2018)
UEFA European Championship appearances	6 (First in 1972)
Best result	Runners-Up (1980)

The Belgian national football team has officially represented Belgium in association football since their maiden match in 1904. The squad is under the global jurisdiction of FIFA and is governed in Europe by UEFA—both of which were co-founded by the Belgian team's supervising body, the Royal Belgian Football Association (RBFA). Periods of regular Belgian representation at the highest international level, from 1920 to 1938, and 1970 to 2002, have alternated with mostly unsuccessful qualification rounds. Most of Belgium's home matches are played at the King Baudouin Stadium in Brussels.

Belgium's national team have participated in three, quadrennial major football competitions. They appeared in the end stages of twelve FIFA World Cups and four UEFA European Football Championships, and featured at three Olympic football tournaments, including the 1920 Olympic tournament which they won. Other notable performances are victories over four reigning world champions—West Germany, Brazil, Argentina and France—between 1954 and 2002. Belgium has longstanding football rivalries with its Dutch neighbours and its French counterparts, having played both teams nearly every year from 1905 to 1967. The squad has been known as the Red Devils since 1906; its supporters' group is named 1895.

During the national player career of forward Paul Van Himst, the most-praised Belgian footballer of the 20th century, Belgium took third place at Euro 1972. After that, the national squad experienced two golden ages with many gifted players. In the first period, which lasted from the 1980s to the early 1990s, the team finished as runners-up at Euro 1980 and fourth in the 1986 World Cup. In the second, under guidance of Marc Wilmots and later Roberto Martínez in the 2010s, Belgium topped the FIFA World Rankings for the first time in November 2015 and finished third at the 2018 World Cup. Belgium currently participates in League A of the first UEFA Nations League edition, and will participate in the same league for the next edition.

Competitive records

FIFA World Cup

FIFA World Cup finals record											Qualifications record
Year	Round	Position	GP	W	D*	L	GF	GA	Squad		GP	W	D	L	GF	GA
1930	Round 1	11th	2	0	0	2	0	4	Squad		Qualified as invitees						—
1934		15th	1	0	0	1	2	5	Squad		2	0	1	1	6	8	1934
1938		13th	1	0	0	1	1	3	Squad		2	1	1	0	4	3	1938
1950	Withdrew										Withdrew						1950
1954	Group stage	12th	2	0	1	1	5	8	Squad		4	3	1	0	11	6	1954
1958	Did not qualify										4	2	1	1	16	11	1958
1962											4	0	0	4	3	10	1962
1966											5	3	0	2	12	5	1966
1970	Group stage	10th	3	1	0	2	4	5	Squad		6	4	1	1	14	8	1970
1974	Did not qualify										6	4	2	0	12	0	1974
1978											6	3	0	3	7	6	1978
1982	Group stage 2	10th	5	2	1	2	3	5	Squad		8	5	1	2	12	9	1982
1986	Fourth place	4th	7	2	2	3	12	5	Squad		8	4	2	2	9	5	1986
1990	Round of 16	11th	4	2	0	2	6	4	Squad		8	4	4	0	15	5	1990
1994		11th	4	2	0	2	4	4	Squad		10	7	1	2	16	5	1994
1998	Group stage	19th	3	0	3	0	3	3	Squad		10	7	1	2	23	13	1998
2002	Round of 16	14th	4	1	2	1	6	7	Squad		10	7	2	1	27	6	2002
2006	Did not qualify										10	3	3	4	16	11	2006
2010											10	3	1	6	13	20	2010
2014	Quarter-finals	6th	5	4	0	1	6	3	Squad		10	8	2	0	18	4	2014
2018	Third place	3rd	7	6	0	1	16	6	Squad		10	9	1	0	43	6	2018
2022	To be determined										To be determined						2022
Total	13/21	Best: Third place	48	20	9*	19	68	72	N/A		133	77	25	31	277	141	Total
Champions       Runners-up       Third place       Fourth place

*Denotes draws including knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

UEFA European Championship record

UEFA European Championship record											Qualification record
Host nation(s) and year	Round	Pos	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Squad		Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1960	Did not enter										Did not enter
1964	Did not qualify										2	0	0	2	2	4
1968											6	3	1	2	14	9
1972	Third place	3rd	2	1	0	1	3	3	Squad		8	5	2	1	13	4
1976	Did not qualify										8	3	2	3	7	10
1980	Runners-up	2nd	4	1	2	1	4	4	Squad		8	4	4	0	12	5
1984	Group stage	6th	3	1	0	2	4	8	Squad		6	4	1	1	12	8
1988	Did not qualify										8	3	3	2	16	8
1992											6	2	1	3	7	6
1996											10	4	3	3	17	13
2000	Group stage	12th	3	1	0	2	2	5	Squad		Qualified as hosts
2004	Did not qualify										8	5	1	2	11	9
2008											14	5	3	6	14	16
2012											10	4	3	3	21	15
2016	Quarter-finals	7th	5	3	0	2	9	5	Squad		10	7	2	1	24	5
2020	Qualified										10	10	0	0	40	3
2024	To be determined
Total	Best: runners-up	5/15	17	7	2	8	22	25	—		114	59	26	29	210	115
Champions       Runners-up       Third place/semi-finalists

UEFA Nations League

UEFA Nations League record
Year	Division	Round	Pos	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA
2018–19	A	Group stage	5th	4	3	0	1	9	6
2020–21	A	To be determined
Total		Group stage League A	1/3	4	3	0	1	9	6

Results and fixtures

2019

UEFA Euro 2020 Q 16 November 2019 (2019-11-16)	Russia	1–4	Belgium	Saint Petersburg, Russia
18:00 (20:00 UTC+3)	Dzhikiya  79'	Report	T. Hazard  19' E. Hazard  33', 40' R. Lukaku  72'	Stadium: Krestovsky Stadium Referee: Artur Soares Dias (Portugal)

UEFA Euro 2020 Q 19 November 2019 (2019-11-19)	Belgium	6–1	Cyprus	Brussels, Belgium
20:45 (20:45 UTC+1)	Benteke  16', 68' De Bruyne  36', 42' Carrasco  44' Christoforou  51' (o.g.)	Report	N. Ioannou  14'	Stadium: King Baudouin Stadium Referee: Jørgen Burchardt (Denmark)

2020

Qatar Airways International Tournament 27 March 2020 (2020-03-27)	Belgium	Cancelled	Portugal	Ar-Rayyan, Qatar
		Report		Stadium: Education City Stadium

Qatar Airways International Tournament 30 March 2020 (2020-03-30)	Switzerland	Cancelled	Belgium	Ar-Rayyan, Qatar
		Report		Stadium: Education City Stadium

2020–21 UEFA Nations League 5 September 2020 (2020-09-05)	Denmark	0–2	Belgium	Copenhagen, Denmark
20:45 (20:45 UTC+2)		Report	Denayer  9' Mertens  77'	Stadium: Parken Stadium Attendance: 0 Referee: Sandro Schärer (Switzerland)

2020–21 UEFA Nations League 8 September 2020 (2020-09-08)	Belgium	5–1	Iceland	Brussels, Belgium
20:45 (20:45 UTC+2)	Witsel  13' Batshuayi  17', 69' Mertens  50' Doku  80'	Report	H. Friðjónsson  11'	Stadium: King Baudouin Stadium Attendance: 0 Referee: Paweł Raczkowski (Poland)

Friendly 8 October 2020 (2020-10-08)	Belgium	1–1	Ivory Coast	Brussels, Belgium
20:45 (20:45 UTC+2)	Batshuayi  54'	Report	Kessié  87' (pen.)	Stadium: King Baudouin Stadium Referee: Serdar Gözübüyük (Netherlands)

2020–21 UEFA Nations League 11 October 2020 (2020-10-11)	England	2–1	Belgium	London, England
18:00 (17:00 UTC+1)	Rashford  39' (pen.) Mount  65'	Report	Lukaku  16' (pen.)	Stadium: Wembley Stadium Attendance: 0 Referee: Tobias Stieler (Germany)

2020–21 UEFA Nations League 14 October 2020 (2020-10-14)	Iceland	1–2	Belgium	Reykjavík, Iceland
20:45 (18:45 UTC±0)	Sævarsson  17'	Report	Lukaku  9', 38' (pen.)	Stadium: Laugardalsvöllur Referee: Andris Treimanis (Latvia)

Friendly 11 November 2020 (2020-11-11)	Belgium	v	Switzerland	Brussels, Belgium
				Stadium: King Baudouin Stadium

2020–21 UEFA Nations League 15 November 2020 (2020-11-15)	Belgium	v	England	Brussels, Belgium
20:45 (20:45 UTC+1)				Stadium: King Baudouin Stadium

2020–21 UEFA Nations League 18 November 2020 (2020-11-18)	Belgium	v	Denmark	Brussels, Belgium
20:45 (20:45 UTC+1)				Stadium: King Baudouin Stadium

2021

UEFA Euro 2020 12 June 2021 (2021-06-12)	Russia	v	Belgium	Saint Petersburg, Russia
				Stadium: Krestovsky Stadium

UEFA Euro 2020 17 June 2021 (2021-06-17)	Denmark	v	Belgium	Copenhagen, Denmark
				Stadium: Parken Stadium

UEFA Euro 2020 21 June 2021 (2021-06-21)	Belgium	v	Finland	Saint Petersburg, Russia
				Stadium: Krestovsky Stadium

Players

Current squad

The following 33 players were called up for the friendly against Ivory Coast and the UEFA Nations League matches against England and Iceland on 8, 11 and 14 October 2020, respectively, and are able to play.
Caps, goals and player numbers are correct as of 14 October 2020 after the game against Iceland.

# Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club 12 1GK Simon Mignolet 6 March 1988 (1988-03-06) 28 0 Club Brugge 13 1GK Thomas Kaminski 23 October 1992 (1992-10-23) 0 0 Blackburn Rovers 1 1GK Davy Roef 6 February 1994 (1994-02-06) 0 0 Gent 2 2DF Toby Alderweireld 2 March 1989 (1989-03-02) 102 5 Tottenham Hotspur 15 2DF Thomas Meunier 12 September 1991 (1991-09-12) 43 7 Borussia Dortmund 4 2DF Dedryck Boyata 28 November 1990 (1990-11-28) 20 0 Hertha BSC 3 2DF Jason Denayer 28 June 1995 (1995-06-28) 17 1 Lyon 21 2DF Timothy Castagne 5 December 1995 (1995-12-05) 11 2 Leicester City 5 2DF Leander Dendoncker 15 April 1995 (1995-04-15) 10 0 Wolverhampton Wanderers 22 2DF Brandon Mechele 28 January 1993 (1993-01-28) 2 0 Club Brugge 6 3MF Axel Witsel 12 January 1989 (1989-01-12) 109 10 Borussia Dortmund 11 3MF Yannick Carrasco 4 September 1993 (1993-09-04) 44 6 Atlético Madrid 8 3MF Youri Tielemans 7 May 1997 (1997-05-07) 31 2 Leicester City 19 3MF Dennis Praet 24 May 1994 (1994-05-24) 7 0 Leicester City 14 3MF Hans Vanaken 14 August 1992 (1992-08-14) 7 0 Club Brugge 3MF Joris Kayembe 8 August 1994 (1994-08-08) 1 0 Charleroi 10 4FW Romelu Lukaku 13 May 1993 (1993-05-13) 87 55 Internazionale 20 4FW Christian Benteke 3 December 1990 (1990-12-03) 38 15 Crystal Palace 23 4FW Michy Batshuayi 2 October 1993 (1993-10-02) 31 19 Crystal Palace 17 4FW Divock Origi 18 April 1995 (1995-04-18) 29 3 Liverpool 18 4FW Yari Verschaeren 12 July 2001 (2001-07-12) 6 1 Anderlecht 7 4FW Jérémy Doku 27 May 2002 (2002-05-27) 5 1 Rennes 9 4FW Leandro Trossard 4 December 1995 (1995-12-04) 3 0 Brighton & Hove Albion 16 4FW Dodi Lukebakio 24 September 1997 (1997-09-24) 0 0 Hertha BSC Recent call-ups The following footballers were part of a national selection in the past 12 months, but are not part of the current squad. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up GK Hendrik Van Crombrugge OTH 30 April 1993 (1993-04-30) 1 0 Anderlecht v. Ivory Coast, 8 October 2020 GK Koen Casteels OTH 25 June 1992 (1992-06-25) 1 0 VfL Wolfsburg v. Ivory Coast, 8 October 2020 GK Jens Teunckens 30 January 1998 (1998-01-30) 0 0 AEK Larnaca v. Ivory Coast, 8 October 2020 GK Thibaut Courtois UNF 11 May 1992 (1992-05-11) 79 0 Real Madrid v. Ivory Coast, 8 October 2020 GK Matz Sels 26 February 1992 (1992-02-26) 0 0 Strasbourg v. Cyprus, 19 November 2019 DF Jan Vertonghen INJ 24 April 1987 (1987-04-24) 120 9 Benfica v. Iceland, 14 October 2020 DF Sebastiaan Bornauw 22 March 1999 (1999-03-22) 1 0 1. FC Köln v. Ivory Coast, 8 October 2020 DF Zinho Vanheusden 29 July 1999 (1999-07-29) 1 0 Standard Liège v. Ivory Coast, 8 October 2020 DF Elias Cobbaut INJ 24 November 1997 (1997-11-24) 1 0 Anderlecht v. Denmark, 5 September 2020 DF Thomas Vermaelen OTH 14 November 1985 (1985-11-14) 78 2 Vissel Kobe v. Cyprus, 19 November 2019 MF Kevin De Bruyne UNF (Vice-captain) 28 June 1991 (1991-06-28) 76 19 Manchester City v. Iceland, 14 October 2020 MF Alexis Saelemaekers 27 June 1999 (1999-06-27) 1 0 Milan v. Ivory Coast, 8 October 2020 MF Nacer Chadli UNF 2 August 1989 (1989-08-02) 59 8 İstanbul Başakşehir v. Ivory Coast, 8 October 2020 MF Thorgan Hazard 29 March 1993 (1993-03-29) 28 4 Borussia Dortmund v. Iceland, 8 September 2020 MF Maxime Lestienne 17 June 1992 (1992-06-17) 0 0 Standard Liège v. Cyprus, 19 November 2019 FW Eden Hazard INJ (Captain) 7 January 1991 (1991-01-07) 106 32 Real Madrid v. Ivory Coast, 8 October 2020 FW Dries Mertens OTH 6 May 1987 (1987-05-06) 92 20 Napoli v. Ivory Coast, 8 October 2020 FW Landry Dimata 1 September 1997 (1997-09-01) 0 0 Anderlecht v. Iceland, 8 September 2020 INJ = Withdrew from this squad due to injury OTH = Other reason UNF = Deemed unfit RET = Retired from international football SUS = Serving suspension Alumni Former players Main article: List of Belgium international players Managers Main article: List of Belgium international managers Honours FIFA World Cup Third place(1): 2018 Fourth place (1): 1986 UEFA European Championship Runners-up (1): 1980 Third place (1): 1972 Olympic football tournament Gold Medal 1 ! (1): 1920 Third place 3 ! (1): 1900 (no medals were awarded yet) (represented by the team of the University of Brussels) Fourth place (1): 2008 (in fact a U-23 tournament) External links RBFA official website (Dutch) (English) (French) FIFA team profile ELO team records Belgian national team news website (French) Official supporters' federation 1895 (Dutch) (French) Belgium Belgian competitions Belgian Coaches Belgian players Belgian Stadiums Add a photo to this gallery Belgium – 1994 FIFA World Cup 1. Preud'homme 2. Medved 3. Borkelmans 4. Albert 5. Smidts 6. Staelens 7. Van der Elst 8. Nilis 9. Degryse 10. Scifo 11. Czerniatynski 12. De Wilde 13. Grün (c) 14. De Wolf 15. Emmers 16. Boffin 17. Weber 18. Wilmots 19. Van Meir 20. Verlinden 21. Van Der Heyden 22. Renier Manager:  Paul Van Himst Belgium – 2014 FIFA World Cup – Quarter-finals 1. Courtois 2. Alderweireld 3. Vermaelen 4. Kompany (c) 5. Vertonghen 6. Witsel 7. De Bruyne 8. Fellaini 9. Lukaku 10. Hazard 11. Mirallas 12. Mignolet 13. Bossut 14. Mertens 15. Van Buyten 16. Defour 17. Origi 18. Lombaerts 19. Dembélé 20. Januzaj 21. Vanden Borre 22. Chadli 23. Ciman Manager:  Marc Wilmots Belgium – UEFA Euro 2016 – Quarter-finals 1. Courtois 2. Alderweireld 3. Vermaelen 4. Nainggolan 5. Vertonghen 6. Witsel 7. De Bruyne 8. Fellaini 9. R. Lukaku 10. Hazard 11. Carrasco 12. Mignolet 13. Gillet 14. Mertens 15. Denayer 16. Meunier 17. Origi 18. Kabasele 19. Dembélé 20. Benteke 21. J. Lukaku 22. Batshuayi 23. Ciman Manager:  Marc Wilmots Belgium – 2018 FIFA World Cup – Third place 1. Courtois 2. Alderweireld 3. Vermaelen 4. Kompany 5. Vertonghen 6. Witsel 7. De Bruyne 8. Fellaini 9. Lukaku 10. E. Hazard (c) 11. Carrasco 12. Mignolet 13. Casteels 14. Mertens 15. Meunier 16. T. Hazard 17. Tielemans 18. Januzaj 19. Dembélé 20. Boyata 21. Batshuayi 22. Chadli 23. Dendoncker Manager:  Roberto Martínez Football in Belgium League competitions The RBFA Cup competitions Belgian First Division A Belgium Belgian Cup Belgian First Division B (U-21) Belgian Supercup Third Division (A, B) List of clubs Belgian League Cup Belgian Promotion (A, B, C, D) List of stadiums Provincial leagues (by capacity) List of leagues Records