Belgian national football team / world championships

Belgium
België / Belgique

World Cup record goalscorer:	Romelu Lukaku and Marc Wilmots (5 each)
World Cup record players:	Enzo Scifo (17)
Rank :	11
Balance sheet
48 World Cup games 20 wins 9 draws 19 losses 68:72 goals
statistics
First World Cup game Belgium 0: 3 USA Montevideo ( URY ); July 13, 1930
Biggest World Cup victories Belgium 3-0 El Salvador Mexico City ( MEX ); June 3, 1970 Belgium 3-0 Panama Sochi ( RUS ); June 18, 2018 Belgium 5-2 Tunisia Moscow ( RUS ); June 23, 2018
Biggest World Cup defeats Belgium 0: 3 USA Montevideo ( URY ); July 13, 1930 Belgium 2: 5 German Empire Florence ( ITA ); May 27, 1934 Belgium 1: 4 Italy Lugano ( SUI ); June 20, 1954 Belgium 1: 4 USSR Mexico City ( MEX ); 6 June 1970 Belgium 0-3 Poland Barcelona ( ESP ); June 28, 1982
successes
World Championship
Participation in the finals	13 ( first : 1930 )
Best results	Third place ( Football World Cup 2018 )
Best placements in the countries that host the FIFA World Cup
(As of July 14, 2018 )

The article contains a detailed description of the Belgian national football team at world championships . The Belgians already took part in the first World Cup in 1930 and achieved their best result so far with third place in 2018. In the all-time ranking , the Belgians are the best team that never reached the final, in 11th place.

overview

Belgium have taken part in the final round of the World Cup thirteen times so far.

year	Host country	Participation until ...	Last opponent	Result	Trainer	Comments and special features
1930	Uruguay	Preliminary round	USA , Paraguay	11.	Hector Goetinck	First games outside of Europe
1934	Italy	Round of 16	Germany	15th	Hector Goetinck
1938	France	Round of 16	France	13.	Jack Butler
1950	Brazil	not participated
1954	Switzerland	Preliminary round	England , Italy	12.	Dugald Livingstone
1958	Sweden	not qualified				In the qualification of France failed
1962	Chile	not qualified				In qualifying at the Switzerland failed
1966	England	not qualified				In the qualification of Bulgaria failed
1970	Mexico	Preliminary round	El Salvador , USSR , Mexico	10.	Raymond Goethals
1974	Germany	not qualified				In the qualification to the Netherlands failed
1978	Argentina	not qualified				In the qualification to the Netherlands failed
1982	Spain	Intermediate round	Poland , USSR	10.	Guy Thys
1986	Mexico	3rd place match	France	Fourth	Guy Thys	Defeat in extra time
1990	Italy	Round of 16	England	11.	Guy Thys	Out after extra time
1994	United States	Round of 16	Germany	11.	Paul Van Himst
1998	France	Preliminary round	Netherlands , Mexico , South Korea	19th	Georges Leekens
2002	South Korea / Japan	Round of 16	Brazil	14th	Robert Waseige
2006	Germany	not qualified				In the qualification of Serbia-Montenegro and Spain failed
2010	South Africa	not qualified				In qualifying at eventual champions Spain failed
2014	Brazil	Quarter finals	Argentina	6th	Marc Wilmots	For the first time three wins in the preliminary round
2018	Russia	3rd place match	England	Third	Roberto Martínez	Failed in the semi-finals by France .

Statistics (data including 2018: 21 World Championships; percentages are rounded)

• Not participated: 1 × (5%; 1950)
• Unqualified: 7 × (33%; 1958, 1962, 1966, 1974, 1978, 2006 and 2010)
• Athletic qualification: 12 × (57% or 63% of the attempts)
• Participated without qualification: 1 × (5%; 1930)
  • Preliminary round: 4 × (19%; 1930, 1954, 1970 and 1998)
  • Round of 16 or first round: 5 times (24%; 1934, 1938, 1990, 1994 and 2002)
  • Intermediate round of the top 12 teams (1982 only): 1 × (5%; 1982)
  • Quarter-finals: 1 × (5%; 2014)
  • Match for 3rd place: 2 × (10%, 1986 and 2018)
    • Fourth: 1 × (5%; 1986)
    • Third: 1 × (5%; 2018)

World Cup tournaments

1930 in Uruguay

Scene from the game against the USA

Belgium was one of only four European teams, along with France and Romania , to undertake the three-week cruise on the Conte Verde to take part in the first World Cup. Belgium lost the opening game against the USA with 0: 3 and also the second game against Paraguay with 0: 1 and thus left again without a point or goal. After all, Belgium provided John Langenus as the referee for the first World Cup final.

1934 in Italy

For the first World Cup in Europe , the Belgians had to go through two games against their neighbors the Netherlands and Ireland qualify , each team one home and one away game had. Belgium drew in Ireland and lost in the Netherlands, but conceded one less goal than the Irish, which meant that the two neighbors qualified for Italy. There both were eliminated in the round of 16, the Belgians 2: 5 against Germany and the Dutch 2: 3 against Switzerland . Here was Bernard Voorhoof scored the first two World Cup goals for Belgium and the Belgians up for half-time with 2: put 1 lead. In the second half, German striker Edmund Conen managed the first flawless hat - trick in World Cup history.

1938 in France

For the first World Cup in France to Belgium had to go along with the Dutch, but this time against Luxembourg qualify . Both won their games against Luxembourg and drew against each other, so that both could travel to the World Cup finals again. Like four years before, the round of 16 ended again, this time against hosts and neighboring France with 1: 3

1950 in Brazil

Belgium had already started playing international matches again in May 1945 and played numerous games up to 1949, but the Belgians did not take part in the second World Cup in South America and after the qualifying draw did not play against Switzerland .

1954 in Switzerland

For the World Cup in Switzerland to Belgium had to play Sweden and Finland qualify what succeeded impressively with three wins and a draw. In Switzerland, the Belgians were drawn into a group with the hosts Switzerland, England and Italy and since they were not seeded like the Swiss, both only had to play against England and Italy. Against England the first point win in a World Cup game succeeded with the 4: 4 n. V. But they lost 4-1 to Italy, leaving Belgium bottom of the group and saying goodbye to the World Cup for 16 years.

1958 in Sweden

For the World Cup in Sweden to Belgium had to play France and Iceland qualify . Belgium started badly with a 3: 6 in France against the French, but then won both games against Iceland like the French, so that in the last game in Brussels they had the chance to force a play-off with a win. As the game ended goalless, the Belgians were eliminated and France went to Sweden for the World Cup.

1962 in Chile

To qualify for the third World Cup in South America , the Belgian team was drawn into a group with Switzerland and Sweden . Belgium lost all four games and were eliminated.

1966 in England

Even four years later, the qualification failed . This time Bulgaria was too strong. Although the group stage ended tied with the Bulgarians - both had won their games against third opponent Israel and against each other their home games - but since the Belgians' better goal difference did not count, there was a play-off. The Belgians lost this 1: 2 in Florence .

1970 in Mexico

Belgium then qualified again for the first World Cup in Central America . With four wins, one draw and one defeat each , the first place was taken in a group with Spain , Yugoslavia and Finland .

In Mexico, Belgium met World Cup newcomer El Salvador in their first game and achieved their first World Cup victory with a 3-0 win. But then they lost 4-1 to the Soviet Union . In the last and decisive game against hosts Mexico in front of 108,192 spectators, the highest number of spectators at this tournament, Belgium lost 1-0 and was eliminated third in the group.

1974 in the Federal Republic of Germany

The Belgians could not qualify for the World Cup in the neighboring country . Belgium was one of the top three teams at the European Championship that had been held two years earlier . But neighboring Netherlands, who were twice 0-0, scored more goals against Norway and Iceland . Before the last game, the two neighbors had 9-1 points, but a draw was enough for the Dutch because of the better goal difference, while Belgium had to win in Amsterdam . The two met on November 18, 1973 in the Olympic Stadium , which was full despite the driving ban in the Netherlands due to the oil crisis . The score was 0-0 until the 89th minute, when Jan Verheyen extended a free kick from Paul van Himst into the Dutchman's goal, but referee Pawel Kasakow ruled offside . If the goal had counted, Belgium would have qualified - so the Dutch drove to the World Cup and impressed with “ totaalvoetbal ”. Belgium, on the other hand, were eliminated without defeat and conceded.

1978 in Argentina

Belgium could not qualify for the fourth World Cup in South America and again the Dutch neighbors were stronger. Both games against the neighbor and runner-up as well as a game against Northern Ireland were lost. Both games could only be won against Iceland.

1982 in Spain

Belgium, which had become vice European champion in 1980, qualified for the World Cup in Spain , together with France against Ireland , the Netherlands and Cyprus .

In Spain , the opening game against defending champions Argentina and the game against El Salvador were surprisingly won 1-0. A 1-1 draw against Hungary was enough to move into the second final round as group winners. This was only played in groups of three at this World Cup and Belgium lost both games against Poland (0: 3) and the Soviet Union (0: 1).

1986 in Mexico

Qualifying for the second World Cup in Mexico brought Poland and Belgium into a group with Albania and Greece . After a win against Albania there was a setback against Greece, against which they only managed a 0-0 win in Athens and then they lost 2-0 in Albania. But then the home games against Poland and Greece were won and a 0-0 win against Poland in Chorzów , so that the playoff games against the Dutch were achieved. After a 1-0 win in Brussels they lost 2-1 in Rotterdam , but the away goals rule meant that Belgium qualified.

In Mexico, Belgium met the hosts again in the opening game in front of 110,000 spectators and lost 2-1. A 2: 1 against World Cup newcomer Iraq and a 2: 2 against Paraguay were enough to make it into the round of 16 as one of the four best third-placed players in the group. Here the Belgians were able to prevail against the Soviet Union 4: 3 after extra time. In the quarter-finals a 1-1 draw after extra time was fought against strong Spaniards and the subsequent penalty shoot-out was won 5-4. In the semifinals, the eventual world champions Argentina were too strong and Belgium lost 2-0. In the game for third place, neighbor France were the opponents and it was the only "small final" to date that was decided in extra time. The French won 4-2 in the end.

1990 in Italy

For the second World Cup in Italy , the Belgians could, together with the Czechoslovakia qualify facing point and tordifferenzgleich - but more with two goals - the first place was occupied. Portugal , Switzerland and Luxembourg were left behind.

In Italy, South Korea was initially defeated 2-0. It was followed by a 3-1 win against Uruguay . In the final 1: 2 against Spain, the group victory was missed, but reached the round of 16. In the second round they lost 1-0 to England after extra time .

1994 in the United States

In qualifying for the World Cup in the USA, the Belgians met Czechoslovakia again, which participated for the last time, but under the designation Selection of Czechs and Slovaks (Representation of Czechs and Slovaks, RCS). Other opponents were Romania , who ended up with the same number of points with the better goal difference in front of the Belgians, as well as the Faroe Islands , who took part in the qualification for the first time, Wales and Cyprus . Second place was enough to qualify again.

In the USA, the opening game against Morocco and the second game against the Dutch were won 1-0. The last game against World Cup newcomer Saudi Arabia was surprisingly lost 1-0. So the Belgians, like the Dutch and Saudis, had 6 points, but the worst goal difference of the three teams, so that only third place was taken. However, this was enough for the last time to get into the round of 16. Here defending champion Germany was the opponent and in a hard-fought game Belgium lost 3-2. Michel Preud'homme was awarded the first ever Lev Yashin Prize for the tournament's best goalkeeper.

1998 in France

For the second World Cup in France , Belgium and the Dutch were able to qualify against Turkey , Wales and San Marino , but had to go through the relegation games against Ireland. After a 1-1 draw in Dublin , qualification was achieved with a 2-1 win in Brussels .

Belgians and Dutch were drawn into a group again for the finals and met Mexico and South Korea . After a goalless draw against the neighbors and a 2-2 draw against Mexico, a 1-1 draw against South Korea was not enough to make it to the round of 16, as only the first two places allowed to advance.

2002 in Japan and South Korea

Belgium managed to qualify as second in the group behind Croatia , ahead of Scotland , Latvia and San Marino, but had to go back into relegation. The direct qualification on the last day of the match was missed by a 0: 1 against Croatia. The Czech Republic was then the opponent in the relegation games and qualified with two 1-0 wins.

In Asia, the Belgians faced co-hosts Japan in the opening game and scored 2-2. Against Tunisia it was only enough to score 1-1, so that the last group game against Russia had to be won to reach the round of 16. This succeeded with a 3-2. In the round of 16, however, the later world champions Brazil were too strong and with the 0: 2 Belgium, which still received the fair play prize , said goodbye to the World Cup for 12 years.

2006 in Germany

The qualification for the second World Cup in Germany brought games against Slovakia , Spain , Serbia & Montenegro , Bosnia-Herzegovina , Lithuania and San Marino. Belgium started badly and could only win in their fourth game - against Bosnia-Herzegovina. After that only the two games against San Marino were won, so that in the end only fourth place came out.

2010 in South Africa

The Belgians were also unable to qualify for the first World Cup in Africa . The newly crowned European champions Spain, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Turkey ended up ahead of Belgium, which only Estonia and Armenia were able to beat . Only at the beginning of the qualification it looked good after victories against Estonia and Armenia and a draw in Turkey, but then five defeats followed before another victory against Turkey. But in the end it was even lost in Estonia.

2014 in Brazil

Scene from the group game against Algeria (left Toby Alderweireld )

Belgian World Cup fans

The qualification for the second World Cup in Brazil went better . With 9 points ahead of Croatia , Serbia , Scotland , Wales and Macedonia the first place was taken.

In Brazil, the Belgians met Algeria in their first game and fell behind with a penalty that Sofiane Feghouli converted in the 24th minute. With two goals in the final quarter of an hour, the Belgians were able to turn the game around. In the second game, Russia was defeated 1-0 with a goal two minutes before the end of the game, so that the round of 16 was perfect even before the last game. This was won 1-0 against South Korea , which Belgium won three group games for the first time. In the round of 16, the USA was defeated 2-1 after extra time, with all goals falling in extra time. Argentina was the opponent in the quarterfinals and the slightly better team at 0: 1. The upward trend of the Belgians continued, however, and in November 2015 Belgium reached the top of the FIFA world rankings for the first time - as the only team to date that has not become world or continental champions.

2018 in Russia

In the qualification , which began in September 2016, the Belgians faced Bosnia and Herzegovina , Greece , Estonia and Cyprus . After the quarter-finals at the Euro 2016 , the Spaniard Roberto Martínez replaced Marc Wilmots as national coach of the Belgians. Belgium was the first European team to qualify for the finals on the third last match day. With 43 goals, the Belgians, along with Germany, were the most accurate team.

At the finals, the Belgians started 3-0 against newcomers Panama and also won against Tunisia (5-2). Since England, opponents in the last group game, also defeated the two teams, both used numerous reservists in the final to win the group. Belgium won the game 1-0 and met Japan as group winners. The Japanese had only reached the knockout round because of the fair play rating and surprisingly took a 2-0 lead against Belgium. Belgium was able to equalize the game and in the fourth minute of stoppage time, when the Japanese were pushing for the winning goal, turned the game through a counterattack. In the quarter-finals they met record world champions Brazil and this time the Belgians took the lead 2-0. They were able to maintain this despite a goal in the 76th minute against stormy attacking South Americans. The Belgian national team then lost the semi-finals to their neighbors France 0-1. In the game for third place they met England again. While Belgium had the best team, the English deployed a few reservists. Belgium won 2-0, their best result at a World Cup. In the FIFA world rankings , they improved by one place to 2nd place thanks to their good performance and even reached 1st place again in September 2018, but have to share this with world champions France.

player

Ranking of the Belgian World Cup players with the most appearances

01. Enzo Scifo - 17 appearances in 4 tournaments

0Jan 2nd Ceulemans - 16 appearances in 3 tournaments

03. Franky van der Elst - 14 appearances in 4 tournaments

04. Thibaut Courtois , Eric Gerets - 12 appearances in 3 tournaments

06. Stéphane Demol , Georges Grün , Eden Hazard , Dries Mertens , Franky Vercauteren and Jan Vertonghen - 11 appearances in 2 and 3 (green) tournaments respectively

12. Toby Alderweireld , Nacer Chadli , Kevin De Bruyne , Michel De Wolf , Marouane Fellaini , Romelu Lukaku , Jean-Marie Pfaff and Axel Witsel - 10 appearances in 3 (De Wolf) or 2 tournaments

20. Vincent Kompany and Daniel Van Buyten - 9 appearances in 2 tournaments

22. Nico Claesen , Michel Preud'homme , Lorenzo Staelens , Patrick Vervoort and Marc Wilmots - 8 appearances in 2 or 3 (Staelens and Wilmots) tournaments

Ranking of the Belgian World Cup players with the most World Cup goals

01. Romelu Lukaku and Marc Wilmots - 5 goals each

03rd Jan Ceulemans - 4 goals

04. Leopold Anoul, Nico Claesen, Eden Hazard and Enzo Scifo - 3 goals each

World Cup captains

• 1930: Pierre Braine
• 1934: Félix Welkenhuysen
• 1938: Émile Stijnen
• 1954: Jef Mermans
• 1970: Paul Van Himst
• 1982: Eric Gerets (1st final round), Wilfried Van Moer (1st game of the 2nd final round), Walter Meeuws (2nd game of the 2nd final round)
• 1986: Jan Ceulemans
• 1990: Eric Gerets (1st game), Jan Ceulemans (from 2nd game)
• 1994: Georges Grün , Michel Preud'homme (3rd group game)
• 1998: Franky Van der Elst (1st and 2nd game), Enzo Scifo (3rd game)
• 2002: Marc Wilmots
• 2014: Vincent Kompany , Jan Vertonghen (3rd group game)
• 2018: Eden Hazard , Thibaut Courtois (3rd group game)

Players banned from World Championships

• 1990: Eric Gerets received the red card in the game against Uruguay and was suspended for the last group game against Spain.
• 1998: Gert Verheyen received the red card in the game against Mexico after an emergency brake and was suspended for the last game against South Korea.
• 2002: Yves Vanderhaeghe received the second yellow card in the round of 16 against Brazil . Since Belgium was eliminated, this had no effect.
• 2014: In the last group game against South Korea, Steven Defour received the red card and was suspended for the round of 16 against the USA. Toby Alderweireld received the second yellow card in the quarter-finals against Argentina . Since Belgium was eliminated, this had no effect.
• 2018: Thomas Meunier received the second yellow card in the quarter-finals and was suspended for the semi-finals against France. There were also Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen shown a second yellow card, but had no effect, since the first yellow card was canceled after the quarterfinals.

Share of players playing abroad in the World Cup squad

Legionnaires were used for the first time in 1982, but only in small numbers until 2002. In 2014 there were only three players left in Belgium and in 2018 only one player, the rest in European leagues, mainly in England.

Year (games)	Number (countries)	Players (stakes)
1930 to 1970	0
1982 (5)	3 (1 in England, 1 in Italy, 1 in Spain)	François Van Der Elst (2); René Vandereycken (0); Theo Custers (1)
1986 (7)	3 (1 in Germany, 1 in France, 1 in the Netherlands)	Jean-Marie Pfaff (7); Philippe Desmet (3); Eric Gerets (6)
1990 (4)	3 (1 in France, 1 in the Netherlands, 1 in Portugal)	Enzo Scifo (4); Eric Gerets (3); Stéphane Demol (4)
1990 (4)	2 (1 in France, 1 in Italy)	Georges Green (4); Enzo Scifo (4)
1998 (3)	5 (1 in Germany, 1 in France, 2 in Italy, 1 in the Netherlands)	Marc Wilmots (3); Danny Boffin (2); Bertrand Crasson (2), Luís Oliveira (3); Luc Nilis (3)
2002 (4)	8 (4 in Germany, 1 in England, 2 in France, 1 in the Netherlands)	Bart Goor (4), Nico Van Kerckhoven (2), Sven Vermant (1), Marc Wilmots (4); Branko Strupar (2); Eric Deflandre (1), Daniel Van Buyten (4); Geert De Vlieger (4)
2014 (5)	20 (2 in Germany, 11 in England, 1 in France, 1 in Italy, 1 in Portugal, 2 in Russia, 2 in Spain)	Kevin de Bruyne (4), Daniel Van Buyten (5); Nacer Chadli (4), Mousa Dembélé (2), Marouane Fellaini (5), Eden Hazard (5), Adnan Januzaj (1), Vincent Kompany (4), Romelu Lukaku (4), Simon Mignolet (0), Kevin Mirallas (4), Thomas Vermaelen (1), Jan Vertonghen (5); Divock Origi (5); Dries Mertens (5); Steven Defour (1); Nicolas Lombaerts (1), Axel Witsel (4); Toby Alderweireld (4), Thibaut Courtois (5)
2018 (7)	22 (2 in China, 3 in Germany, 11 in England, 2 in France, 1 in Italy, 1 in Scotland, 2 in Spain)	Yannick Carrasco (4), Axel Witsel (6); Michy Batshuayi (3), Koen Casteels , Thorgan Hazard (2); Toby Alderweireld, (6), Nacer Chadli (6), Thibaut Courtois (7), Kevin de Bruyne (6), Mousa Dembélé (4), Marouane Fellaini (5), Eden Hazard (6), Vincent Kompany (5), Romelu Lukaku (6), Simon Mignolet, Jan Vertonghen (6); Thomas Meunier (5), Youri Tielemans (4); Dries Mertens (6); Dedryck Boyata (3); Adnan Januzaj (1), Thomas Vermaelen (3)

Games

The Belgians have played 48 World Cup games so far. Of these, 20 were won and 19 lost, and nine ended in a draw. Draw games had to be extended six times because a winner had to be determined, two were won by goals in extra time and one on penalties, and two were lost. Once there was no decision and the draw was accepted.

The Belgians took part in the opening game once in 1982 and won against the defending champions. The Belgians had to face the hosts four times: in 1938 in the first game (round of 16), 1970, 1986 and 2002 (preliminary round)

The Belgians lost three times (1986, 2002 and 2018) to the eventual world champions and played twice (1982 and 1994) against the defending champions.

The Belgians met World Cup newbies five times: 1934 / German Reich , 1970 / El Salvador , 1986 / Iraq, 1994 / Saudi Arabia and 2018 / Panama.

Most frequent opponents: Argentina, England, France, Mexico, Soviet Union and South Korea - three times each.

Most frequent last opponents: Germany , England and France - twice each.

All World Cup games
No.	date	opponent	Result	occasion		venue	comment
1.	07/13/1930	United States	0: 3	Preliminary round	*	Montevideo ( URU )	First international game against the USA, first game outside of Europe
2.	07/20/1930	Paraguay	0: 1	Preliminary round	*	Montevideo ( URU )	First international match against Paraguay, first international match for a European team against Paraguay
3.	May 27, 1934	German Empire	2: 5	Round of 16	*	Florence ( ITA )
4th	06/05/1938	France	1: 3	Round of 16	A.	Colombes ( FRA )
5.	06/17/1954	England	4: 4 a.d.	Preliminary round	*	Basel ( SUI )
6th	06/20/1954	Italy	1: 4	Preliminary round	*	Lugano ( SUI )
7th	06/03/1970	El Salvador	3-0	Preliminary round	*	Mexico City ( MEX )	First international match against El Salvador
8th.	06/06/1970	Soviet Union	1: 4	Preliminary round	*	Mexico City ( MEX )
9.	06/11/1970	Mexico	0: 1	Preliminary round	A.	Mexico City ( MEX )
10.	06/13/1982	Argentina	1-0	Opening game / 1. Final round	*	Barcelona ( ESP )
11.	06/19/1982	El Salvador	1-0	1. Final round	*	Elk ( ESP )
12.	06/22/1982	Hungary	1: 1	1. Final round	*	Elk ( ESP )
13.	06/28/1982	Poland	0: 3	2nd final round	*	Barcelona ( ESP )	Biggest defeat against Poland
14th	07/01/1982	Soviet Union	0: 1	2nd final round	*	Barcelona ( ESP )
15th	06/03/1986	Mexico	1: 2	Preliminary round	A.	Mexico City ( MEX )
16.	06/08/1986	Iraq	2: 1	Preliminary round	*	Toluca ( MEX )	First international match against Iraq
17th	06/11/1986	Paraguay	2: 2	Preliminary round	*	Toluca ( MEX )
18th	06/15/1986	Soviet Union	4: 3 a.d.	Round of 16	*	Leon ( MEX )
19th	06/22/1986	Spain	1: 1 n.V .; 5: 4 i. E.	Quarter finals	*	Puebla ( MEX )
20th	06/25/1986	Argentina	0: 2	Semifinals	*	Mexico City ( MEX )
21st	06/28/1986	France	2: 4 a.d.	3rd place match	*	Puebla ( MEX )
22nd	06/12/1990	South Korea	2-0	Preliminary round	*	Verona ( ITA )	First international match against South Korea
23.	06/17/1990	Uruguay	3: 1	Preliminary round	*	Verona ( ITA )
24.	06/21/1990	Spain	1: 2	Preliminary round	*	Verona ( ITA )
25th	06/26/1990	England	0: 1 a.d.	Round of 16	*	Bologna ( ITA )
26th	06/19/1994	Morocco	1-0	Preliminary round	*	Orlando ( USA )	First international match against Morocco
27.	06/25/1994	Netherlands	1-0	Preliminary round	*	Orlando ( USA )
28.	06/29/1994	Saudi Arabia	0: 1	Preliminary round	*	Washington ( USA )	First international match against Saudi Arabia
29	07/02/1994	Germany	2: 3	Round of 16	*	Chicago ( USA )
30th	06/13/1998	Netherlands	0-0	Preliminary round	*	Saint-Denis ( FRA )
31.	06/20/1998	Mexico	2: 2	Preliminary round	*	Bordeaux ( FRA )
32.	06/25/1998	South Korea	1: 1	Preliminary round	*	Paris ( FRA )
33.	06/04/2002	Japan	2: 2	Preliminary round	A.	Saitama ( JPN )
34.	06/10/2002	Tunisia	1: 1	Preliminary round	*	Ōita ( JPN )
35.	06/14/2002	Russia	3: 2	Preliminary round	*	Fukuroi ( JPN )
36.	06/17/2002	Brazil	0: 2	Round of 16	*	Kobe ( JPN )
37.	06/17/2014	Algeria	2: 1	Preliminary round	*	Belo Horizonte ( BRA )
38.	06/22/2014	Russia	1-0	Preliminary round	*	Rio de Janeiro ( BRA )
39.	06/26/2014	South Korea	1-0	Preliminary round	*	Sao Paulo ( BRA )
40.	07/01/2014	United States	2: 1 a.d.	Round of 16	*	Salvador da Bahia ( BRA )
41.	07/05/2014	Argentina	0: 1	Quarter finals	*	Brasília ( BRA )
42.	06/18/2018	Panama	3-0	Group game	*	Sochi ( RUS )	First game against Panama, first World Cup game for Panama
43.	June 23, 2018	Tunisia	5: 2	Group game	*	Moscow ( RUS )
44.	06/28/2018	England	1-0	Group game	*	Kaliningrad ( RUS )
45.	07/02/2018	Japan	3: 2	Round of 16	*	Rostov-on-Don ( RUS )
46.	07/06/2018	Brazil	2: 1	Quarter finals	*	Kazan ( RUS )
47.	07/10/2018	France	0: 1	Semifinals	*	Saint Petersburg ( RUS )
48.	07/14/2018	England	2-0	3rd place match	*	Saint Petersburg ( RUS )

Highest victories and defeats

The Belgians achieved their highest victories against the following countries in World Cup tournaments:

•  Argentina  : preliminary round 1982 - 1-0 (only win against Argentina)
•  El Salvador : preliminary round 1970 - 3-0 (first World Cup victory)
•  Iraq : preliminary round 1986 - 2-1 (only game against Iraq)
•  Panama : Preliminary round 2018 - 3-0 (first game against Panama)
•  Soviet Union : Round of 16 1986 - 4: 3 aet (only win against the Soviet Union)
•  South Korea : preliminary round 1990 - 2-0
•  Tunisia : Preliminary round 2018 - 5: 2
•  Uruguay : Preliminary round 1990 - 3-1 (also a 2-0 in a friendly)

The Belgian team suffered their biggest defeats in World Cup tournaments against the following countries:

•  Mexico : Preliminary rounds 1970 and 1986 - 0: 1 and 1: 2 (also a 0: 1 in a friendly game)
•  Paraguay : preliminary round 1930 - 1-0 (only defeat against Paraguay)
•  Saudi Arabia : 1994 preliminary round - 0-1 (only defeat to Saudi Arabia)
•  Poland : 2nd final round 1982 - 0-3
•  Soviet Union : preliminary round 1970 - 1: 4
•  United States : Preliminary round 1930 - 3-0 (only defeat against the USA)

Records

• The longest draw streak: 5 games in 1998 and 2002
• The highest-scoring draws: England - Belgium 4: 4 a.s. (3: 3, 2: 1) (1954 / preliminary round) and Colombia - Soviet Union 4: 4 (1962 / preliminary round)
• Most goals in a tournament: 16 at the 2018 World Cup in 7 games

Negative records

• Most goals conceded in a tournament in 1986: 15 in 7 games

particularities

• Before 2018, Belgium was the only football nation with more than 10 participations that was a bad omen for European teams: Whenever a European team played against Belgium, they could not become world champions - even if they won against Belgium. The only teams to become world champions after a game against Belgium before 2018 are Argentina (1986 / HF) and Brazil (2002 / AF). However, Belgium met future world champions Spain in the 2010 World Cup qualification. In 2018, France was the first European team to become world champions after winning a World Cup match (semi-finals) against Belgium. For England (2018 opponents in the preliminary round and in the game for 3rd place) the "Belgium curse" held against it.
• Along with Scotland (1974), Cameroon (1982) and New Zealand (2010), Belgium is one of the teams that were knocked out undefeated after the preliminary round in third place.
• In four successive World Cup qualifications (1974 to 1986) Belgium met their northern neighbor, the Netherlands.

See also

Belgian national football team / European championships

Web links

• Football World - Statistics - Belgium on fifa.com
• fifa.com: "Statistical overview: records and milestones"

References and footnotes

1. ↑ Won one game on penalties .
2. ↑ The placements from 5th place onwards were determined by FIFA without any placement games. See: All-time FIFA World Cup Ranking 1930-2014 (PDF; 218 kB)
3. ↑ Croatia - Belgium 1-0
4. ↑ One of them at AS Monaco