Belgium national football team

This article is about the men's team. For the women's team, see Belgium women's national football team.

Belgium

Nickname(s)	Rode Duivels Diables Rouges Rote Teufel (Red Devils)
Association	Belgian Football Association
Confederation	UEFA (Europe)
Head coach	Georges Leekens
Asst coach	Marc Wilmots
Captain	Vincent Kompany
Most caps	Jan Ceulemans (96)
Top scorer	Bernard Voorhoof (30) Paul van Himst (30)
Home stadium	King Baudouin Stadium
FIFA code	BEL
FIFA ranking	40
Highest FIFA ranking	16 (January 2003)
Lowest FIFA ranking	71 (June 2007)
Elo ranking	42
Highest Elo ranking	2 (September 1920)
Lowest Elo ranking	74 (September 2009)
Home colours Away colours
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)
Biggest defeat
England Amateurs 11–2 Belgium (London, England; 17 April 1909)
World Cup
Appearances	11 (First in 1930)
Best result	Fourth place, 1986
European Championship
Appearances	4 (First in 1972)
Best result	Runners-Up, 1980
Honours Men’s Football Bronze 1900 Paris Team Gold 1920 Antwerp Team

The Belgium national football team (Dutch: Het Belgische voetbalelftal, Dutch pronunciation: [ət ˈbɛɫ.ʝɪ.sə ˈvut.bɑɫ.ˌɛɫf.tɑɫ]); (French: L'équipe de Belgique de football); (German: Die Belgische Fußballnationalmannschaft); represents Belgium in association football and is controlled by the Belgian Football Association, the governing body for football in Belgium. Belgium's home stadium is King Baudouin Stadium in Brussels their manager is Georges Leekens. They are nicknamed the Red Devils (Dutch: Rode Duivels, Dutch pronunciation: [ˈroː.də ˈdœy̯.vəɫs]); (French: Diables Rouges); (German: Rote Teufel).

History

Belgium played its first official game on May 1, 1904 in a 3–3 draw against France. Prior to this match, a Belgian selection played several matches, but the squad contained some English players, so these are not added to the caps. For example, Belgium beat Netherlands by 8–0 on April 28, 1901 with the help of some Englishmen. It was then decided that Belgium would play twice a year against Netherlands beginning from 1905, generally once in Antwerp and once in Rotterdam (later Amsterdam). At that time, the national squad was chosen by a committee of representatives of the 6 or 7 main clubs.

The team was nicknamed The Red Devils by journalist Pierre Walckiers after its 3:2 victory over Netherlands (Rotterdam, 1906). The nickname stems from the fact that from the beginning and up until recently, the team's primary colours were all red.

Over the next six decades, Belgium established itself as a strong second-tier team, rarely in the running for winning a major tournament but never easy to handle at home or abroad. A key strength of the team was its systematic use of the offside trap, a defensive tactic developed in the 1960s at Anderlecht under French coach Pierre Sinibaldi.

Their most successful period started when they finished second in the UEFA Euro 1980. The 1980s and early 1990s are generally considered the golden age of the national team. Under the lead of Guy Thys, who coached more than 100 official games, Belgium established a reputation of being a physical, well-organized team that was difficult to play against. The team's rigorous organization was reinforced by several world-class players such as goalkeeper Jean-Marie Pfaff, right-back Eric Gerets, midfielder Jan Ceulemans, playmaker Enzo Scifo and striker Luc Nilis. Performances were sometimes poor against lower-ranked teams, but nearly always inspired against top teams. Until as recently as 2002, world-class national teams did not like the prospect of playing the Red Devils. The Belgians could have beaten favourites Brazil in the 2002 FIFA World Cup if not for a controversially disallowed goal, a decision which surprised the Brazilians themselves. Brazil went on to win the World Cup. Since then, however, the team has steadily slipped down the rankings, and has not been able to extend its past reputation.

After failing to qualify for the FIFA World Cup for the first time since 1978, the contract of national coach Aimé Anthuenis was not renewed beyond 2005, and it was decided on December 22, 2005 that René Vandereycken would replace Anthuenis on January 1, 2006. But the performances of the team did not improve and the Red Devils slipped into an all-time low 71st position in the FIFA World Rankings in June, 2007. After failing to qualify for Euro 2008 and a generally poor performance in the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifiers which ended with Belgium getting knocked out, coach René Vandereycken was sacked on the 7 April 2009. After a shocking 2–1 loss against Armenia on 9 September 2009, Vercauteren resigned earlier than planned and made way for new coach Dick Advocaat. However, on 15 April 2010, after only six months at the helm, Advocaat resigned as manager of the Belgian national team amid speculation that he was to become coach of the Russian national team. The rumors proved to be true, as Advocaat was named the new manager of the Russian national team on May 17, 2010.Georges Leekens was announced as the next manager of the Belgian national team on 11 May 2010, signing a contract until 2012. This is Leekens' second stint as national manager, having previously managed the Red Devils from 1997 to 1999. Though the future looks bright for the Red Devils as a new golden generation is coming to age with likes of Simon Mignolet, Thibaut Courtois, Vincent Kompany, Thomas Vermaelen, Jan Vertonghen, Marouane Fellaini, Steven Defour, Axel Witsel, Kevin De Bruyne, Eden Hazard, Moussa Dembélé, Dries Mertens and Romelu Lukaku.

World Cup record

Belgium qualified for six successive World Cups from 1982 through 2002.

The Belgian team reached the knockout phase five out of six times from 1982 to 2002, including a streak of four tournaments. One of their most famous victories was a 1–0 win over defending champions Argentina, in the first game of the 1982 World Cup held at Camp Nou with a goal by Erwin Vandenbergh.

Four years later they achieved their best-ever World Cup run in 1986 when they placed fourth under command of players like Jan Ceulemans, Eric Gerets and Jean-Marie Pfaff. Belgium surprisingly won against favourites Soviet-Union with stars such as Igor Belanov and Rinat Dasayev (3–4) after extra time. Belgium also beat Spain on penalties, but they lost to eventual champions Argentina in the semifinal (0–2). In the third-place match Belgium lost to France (2–4) after extra time. Captain and midfielder Jan Ceulemans was the first Belgian player to be selected in the All-Star Team of a World Cup. Enzo Scifo was elected as best young player of the tournament.

Despite being knocked out in the second round, the team's general performance in the 1990 was considered better still than that of 1986. Belgium did well against England, but eventually lost in the last minute of extra time after a goal by David Platt. Enzo Scifo was elected as second best player of the 1990 World Cup after Lothar Matthäus.

In the 1994 World Cup Belgium lost to title defenders Germany in round 2. This match became most memorable because of a disputed decision by referee Kurt Röthlisberger. The team was not awarded a penalty when Josip Weber was tripped inside the penalty area. Michel Preud'homme was elected as best goalkeeper of the tournament and he was selected in the All-Star Team.

In 1998 Belgium was one of only two teams, together with world champion France not to lose a single game. Three draws in the first round – against Netherlands, Mexico and South Korea – proved not enough to reach the knock-out stage. In 1998 Enzo Scifo and Franky Van Der Elst appeared in their fourth World Cups, setting a Belgian record.

The FIFA World Cup 2002 did not start well for Belgium, but the team improved during the tournament. Captain Marc Wilmots was notable for scoring in every match of the first round. In the second round they had to play against eventual champions Brazil. Similar to 1994, the outcome of the match was strongly influenced by a disputed referee decision. To the surprise of the Brazilians themselves, referee Peter Prendergast cancelled a valid goal by Marc Wilmots that would have given Belgium a 1–0 lead. After this, the match went in favour of Brazil. Even Brazilian coach Luiz Felipe Scolari declared after the tournament that the match against the Red Devils had been the hardest for Brazil to win. The team did win the tournament's fair-play award. Marc Wilmots equalled the record of Enzo Scifo and Franky Van Der Elst by appearing in 4 World Cup squads, although he didn't play in his first World Cup in 1990. Wilmots also scored his 5th World Cup goal against Russia, which made him Belgium's top scorer in World Cup Finals matches.

Year	Round	GP	W	D*	L	GS	GA
1930	Round 1	2	0	0	2	0	4
1934	Round 1	1	0	0	1	2	5
1938	Round 1	1	0	0	1	1	3
1950	Withdrew	-	-	-	-	-	-
1954	Round 1	2	0	1	1	5	8
1958	Did not qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-
1962	Did not qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-
1966	Did not qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-
1970	Round 1	3	1	0	2	4	5
1974	Did not qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-
1978	Did not qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-
1982	1/8	5	2	1	2	3	5
1986	4th place	7	2	2	3	12	15
1990	1/8	4	2	0	2	6	4
1994	1/8	4	2	0	2	4	4
1998	Round 1	3	0	3	0	3	3
2002	1/8	4	1	2	1	6	7
2006	Did not qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-
2010	Did not qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-
Total	11/19	36	10	9	17	46	63

European Championship record

Belgium's performance in the European Championship does not match its World Cup record. The best result is no doubt the unexpected second place at the 1980 edition in Italy after a narrow defeat (1–2) to West Germany in the final. Belgium hosted or co-hosted the event twice, finishing third in 1972 (when they were chosen amongst the four semi-finalists to actually host the event) and being one of the major disappointments of the 2000 edition with a first-round exit. Belgium first won against Sweden 2–1 via goals from Bart Goor in the 43rd minute and Emile Mpenza in the 46th minute against Sweden's one by Johan Mjallby in the 53rd minute after a terrible error of goalkeeper Filip De Wilde. But then, Belgium lost 2–0 against Italy (goals from Francesco Totti in the 5th minute and Stefano Fiore in the 66th minute) and 2–0 against Turkey (two goals from Hakan Şükür in the 45th after another error of goalkeeper Filip De Wilde, and 70th minute). In the 83rd minute of that last group match, Filip De Wilde even ended his Euro 2000, being sent off for attacking Arif Erdem outside the penalty area.

UEFA European Championship record
Year	Round	Position	GP	W	D*	L	GS	GA
1960	Did not enter
1964 and 1968	Did not qualify
1972	Third place	3rd	2	1	0	1	3	3
1976	Did not qualify
1980	Runners-up	2nd	4	1	2	1	4	4
1984	Group Stage	6th	3	1	0	2	4	8
1988 to 1996	Did not qualify
2000	Group Stage	12th	3	1	0	2	2	5
2004 to 2012	Did not qualify
Total		4/13	12	4	2	6	13	20

Olympic record

Belgium won the Olympic Gold Medal in 1920

• 1900: 3 ! Bronze medal
• 1920: 1 ! Gold medal
• 1924: 1/16 finals
• 1928: 1/4 finals
• 2008: 4th Place

Note: Football at the Summer Olympics has been an under-23 tournament since 1992.

Euro 2012 qualifications

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Germany 10 10 0 0 34 7 +27 30 Turkey 10 5 2 3 13 11 +2 17 Belgium 10 4 3 3 21 15 +6 15 Austria 10 3 3 4 16 17 −1 12 Azerbaijan 10 2 1 7 10 26 −16 7 Kazakhstan 10 1 1 8 6 24 −18 4

Austria — 3–0 0–2 1–2 2–0 0–0 Azerbaijan 1–4 — 1–1 1–3 3–2 1–0 Belgium 4–4 4–1 — 0–1 4–1 1–1 Germany 6–2 6–1 3–1 — 4–0 3–0 Kazakhstan 0–0 2–1 0–2 0–3 — 0–3 Turkey 2–0 1–0 3–2 1–3 2–1 —

2014 FIFA World Cup qualification

Main article: 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification - UEFA Group A

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Croatia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Serbia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Belgium 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Scotland 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Macedonia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Wales 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Belgium — 11 Sep '12 26 Mar '13 16 Oct '12 7 Jun '13 15 Oct '13 Croatia 11 Oct '13 — 7 Sep '12 7 Jun '13 22 Mar '13 16 Oct '12 Macedonia 22 Mar '13 12 Oct '12 — 10 Sep '13 16 Oct '12 6 Sep '13 Scotland 6 Sep '13 15 Oct '13 11 Sep '12 — 8 Sep '12 22 Mar '13 Serbia 12 Oct '12 6 Sep '13 15 Oct '13 26 Mar '13 — 11 Sep '12 Wales 7 Sep '12 26 Mar '13 11 Oct '13 12 Oct '12 10 Sep '13 —

Current squad

The following players are the squad who were named for the friendly matches against Greece on 29 February, 2012.

Caps and goals are correct as of 12 November 2011.

0#0 Pos. Player Date of Birth (Age) Caps Goals Club GK Simon Mignolet 29 August 1988 (1988-08-29) 9 0 Sunderland GK Jean-François Gillet 31 May 1979 (1979-05-31) 7 0 Bologna GK Thibaut Courtois 11 May 1992 (1992-05-11) 1 0 Atlético Madrid DF Vincent Kompany (Captain) 10 April 1986 (1986-04-10) 47 2 Manchester City DF Jan Vertonghen 24 April 1987 (1987-04-24) 36 2 Ajax DF Thomas Vermaelen 14 November 1985 (1985-11-14) 34 1 Arsenal DF Nicolas Lombaerts 20 March 1985 (1985-03-20) 19 2 Zenit St. Petersburg DF Toby Alderweireld 2 March 1989 (1989-03-02) 16 0 Ajax DF Laurent Ciman 5 August 1985 (1985-08-05) 8 0 Standard Liège MF Timmy Simons (Vice-Captain) 11 December 1976 (1976-12-11) 89 6 Nürnberg MF Moussa Dembélé 16 July 1987 (1987-07-16) 38 5 Fulham MF Steven Defour 15 April 1988 (1988-04-15) 33 1 Porto MF Marouane Fellaini 22 November 1987 (1987-11-22) 33 5 Everton MF Axel Witsel 12 January 1989 (1989-01-12) 27 5 Benfica MF Eden Hazard 7 January 1991 (1991-01-07) 26 1 Lille MF Guillaume Gillet 9 March 1984 (1984-03-09) 14 0 Anderlecht MF Maarten Martens 2 July 1984 (1984-07-02) 9 0 AZ MF Dries Mertens 6 May 1987 (1987-05-06) 8 0 PSV MF Nacer Chadli 2 September 1989 (1989-09-02) 7 2 Twente MF Kevin De Bruyne 28 June 1991 (1991-06-28) 2 0 Racing Genk MF Radja Nainggolan 4 May 1988 (1988-05-04) 3 0 Cagliari FW Kevin Mirallas 5 October 1987 (1987-10-05) 25 4 Olympiacos FW Romelu Lukaku 13 May 1993 (1993-05-13) 15 2 Chelsea FW Igor de Camargo 12 May 1983 (1983-05-12) 8 0 Borussia Mönchengladbach FW Benjamin De Ceulaer 19 December 1983 (1983-12-19) 0 0 Lokeren

Recent call-ups

The following players have been called up for the team in the last twelve months.

Pos. Player Date of Birth (Age) Caps Goals Club Latest Call-up GK Olivier Renard 24 May 1979 (1979-05-24) 0 0 Mechelen v. France, 15 November 2011 DF Anthony Vanden Borre 24 October 1987 (1987-10-24) 23 1 Racing Genk v. France, 15 November 2011 DF Daniel Van Buyten 7 February 1978 (1978-02-07) 66 10 Bayern Munich v. France, 15 November 2011 DF Carl Hoefkens 6 October 1978 (1978-10-06) 22 1 Club Brugge v. Germany, 11 October 2011 DF Denis Odoi 27 May 1988 (1988-05-27) 0 0 Anderlecht v. Germany, 11 October 2011 DF Sébastien Pocognoli 1 August 1987 (1987-08-01) 8 0 Standard Liège v. Germany, 11 October 2011 DF Timothy Derijck 25 May 1987 (1987-05-25) 0 0 PSV v. United States, 6 September 2011 DF Dedryck Boyata 28 November 1990 (1990-11-28) 1 0 Bolton Wanderers v. Slovenia, 10 August 2011 DF Katuku Tshimanga 6 November 1988 (1988-11-06) 1 0 Racing Genk v. Slovenia, 10 August 2011 MF Vadis Odjidja-Ofoe 21 February 1989 (1989-02-21) 3 0 Club Brugge v. Romania, 11 November 2011 MF Gaby Mudingayi 1 October 1981 (1981-10-01) 17 0 Bologna v. Germany, 11 October 2011 MF David Hubert 12 February 1988 (1988-02-12) 2 0 Racing Genk v. Kazakhstan, 7 October 2011 MF Jelle Van Damme 10 October 1983 (1983-10-10) 29 0 Standard Liège v. United States, 6 September 2011 MF Yassine El Ghanassy 12 July 1990 (1990-07-12) 1 0 Gent v. Slovenia, 10 August 2011 FW Jelle Vossen 23 March 1989 (1989-03-23) 10 2 Racing Genk v. France, 15 November 2011 FW Marvin Ogunjimi 12 October 1987 (1987-10-12) 7 5 Mallorca v. Germany, 11 October 2011 FW Björn Vleminckx 1 December 1985 (1985-12-01) 3 0 Club Brugge v. Germany, 11 October 2011 FW Tom De Sutter 3 July 1985 (1985-07-03) 14 0 Anderlecht v. Azerbaijan, 29 March 2011

Statistics

Most capped

#	Player	Belgium career	Caps
1	Jan Ceulemans	1977–1991	96
2	Timmy Simons*	2001–	89
3	Eric Gerets	1975–1991	86
=	Franky Van der Elst	1984–1998	86
5	Enzo Scifo	1984–1999	84
6	Paul Van Himst	1960–1974	81
7	Bart Goor	1999–2008	78
8	Georges Grün	1984–1995	77
9	Lorenzo Staelens	1990–2000	70
=	Marc Wilmots	1990–2002	70

the * denotes a player still playing or available for selection.

Last updated: Belgium - Kazakhstan, 7 October 2011.

Top scorers

#	Player	Belgium career	Goals (Caps)
1	Bernard Voorhoof	1928–1940	30 (61)
=	Paul van Himst	1960–1974	30 (81)
3	Marc Wilmots	1990–2002	28 (70)
4	Joseph Mermans	1945–1956	27 (56)
5	Robert de Veen	1906–1913	26 (23)
=	Raymond Braine	1925–1939	26 (54)
7	Wesley Sonck*	2001–	24 (54)
8	Marc Degryse	1984–1996	23 (63)
=	Jan Ceulemans	1976–1991	23 (96)
10	Henri 'Rik' Coppens	1949–1959	21 (47)

the * denotes a player still playing or available for selection.

Last updated: Russia 0–2 Belgium, 17 November 2010.

Youngest players

The top 10 youngest players who made their debut for the national football team of Belgium.

Rank	Player (Team)	Age
1	Fernand Nisot (Léopold Club)	16 years, 19 days
2	Anthony Vanden Borre (Genk)	16 years, 187 days
3	Romelu Lukaku (Chelsea)	16 years, 296 days
4	Paul Van Himst (Anderlecht)	17 years, 17 days
5	Jean Capelle (Standard Liège)	17 years, 153 days
6	Joseph Musch (Saint-Gilloise)	17 years, 198 days
7	Vincent Kompany (Manchester City)	17 years, 314 days
8	Eden Hazard (Lille)	17 years, 316 days
9	Raymond Braine (Beerschot)	17 years, 321 days
10	Bernard Voorhoof (Lierse)	17 years, 338 days

Coaches

Name	Nat	Period
William Maxwell		1910–1913
Charles Bunyan, Sr.		1914
William Maxwell		1920–1928
Victor Löwenfelt		1928–1930
Hector Goetinck		1930–1934
Jules Turnauer		1935
Jack Butler		1935–1940
François Demol		1944–1946
Bill Gormlie		1947–1953
Dougall Livingstone		1953–1954
André Vandeweyer		1955–1957
Louie Nicoly		1957 (Caretaker)
Géza Toldi		1957–1958
Constant Vanden Stock		1958–1968
Raymond Goethals		Jun. 19, 1968 – Apr. 26, 1976
Guy Thys		May 22, 1976 – Jun. 9, 1989
Walter Meeuws		Jul. 23, 1989 – Feb. 21, 1990
Guy Thys		May 26, 1990 – May 1, 1991
Paul Van Himst		Sep. 1, 1991 – Mar. 21, 1996
Wilfried Van Moer		Oct. 8, 1996 – Dec. 27, 1996
Georges Leekens		Feb. 11, 1997 – Aug. 8, 1999
Robert Waseige		Aug. 20, 1999 – Jun. 30, 2002
Aimé Anthuenis		Aug. 21, 2002 – Dec. 31, 2005
René Vandereycken		Jan. 1, 2006 – Apr. 7, 2009
Franky Vercauteren		May 5, 2009 – Sep. 9, 2009
Dick Advocaat		Oct. 1, 2009 – Apr. 15, 2010
Georges Leekens		May 4, 2010 – present

Historical Kits

1986-1990 Home

|

2002 Home

See also

• Belgium national youth football team (U-17, U-18, U-19, U20, U21, U23 Squads)
• Belgium women's national football team

External links

• Footbel.be website – Belgian FA official website
• Footbel.be website – Belgian national team news website
• Footbel.be/National team statistics page/
• The Red Devils Archive
• RSSSF archive of results 1904–
• RSSSF archive of most capped players and highest goalscorers
• RSSSF archive of coaches 1904–
• IFFHS Archive:1904–1910