Belgium national football team

Belgium
Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s)
  • De Rode Duivels
  • Les Diables rouges
  • Die Roten Teufel
  • (The Red Devils)
AssociationRoyal Belgian Football Association (RBFA)
ConfederationUEFA (Europe)
Head coachDomenico Tedesco
CaptainKevin De Bruyne
Most capsJan Vertonghen (157)[a]
Top scorerRomelu Lukaku (85)[a]
Home stadiumKing Baudouin Stadium
FIFA codeBEL
First colours
Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current 8 Decrease 2 (28 November 2024)[1]
Highest1 (November 2015 – March 2016, September 2018 – March 2022[1])
Lowest71 (June 2007[1])
First international
 Belgium 3–3 France 
(Uccle, 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)
 Belgium 9–0 San Marino 
(Brussels, Belgium; 10 October 2019)
Biggest defeat
 England Amateurs 11–2 Belgium 
(London, England; 17 April 1909)
World Cup
Appearances14 (first in 1930)
Best resultThird place (2018)
European Championship
Appearances7 (first in 1972)
Best resultRunners-up (1980)
Nations League Finals
Appearances1 (first in 2021)
Best resultFourth place (2021)
Olympic Games
Appearances5 (first in 1900)
Best resultGold medal (1920)
Websiterbfa.be

The Belgium national football team[b] has officially represented Belgium in men's international 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. Periods of regular Belgian representation at the highest international level, from 1920 to 1938, from 1980 to 2002 and again from 2014 onwards, 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. It appeared in the end stages of fourteen FIFA World Cups and six UEFA European Championships, and featured at three Olympic football tournaments, including the 1920 Summer Olympic 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 long-standing football rivalries with its Dutch and 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 fan club is named "1895".

During the national player career of forward Paul Van Himst, the most-praised Belgian footballer of the 20th century, Belgium finished in third place as hosts at UEFA Euro 1972. After that, they 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 UEFA Euro 1980 and fourth in the 1986 FIFA World Cup. In the second, under guidance of Marc Wilmots and later Roberto Martínez in the 2010s, Belgium topped the FIFA World Ranking for the first time in November 2015 and finished third at the 2018 FIFA World Cup. To date, Belgium is the only national team in the world to top the FIFA ranking without having won a World Cup or a continental trophy.


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  1. ^ a b c "The FIFA/Coca-Cola Men's World Ranking". FIFA. 28 November 2024. Retrieved 28 November 2024.
  2. ^ Elo rankings change compared to one year ago. "World Football Elo Ratings". eloratings.net. 21 November 2024. Retrieved 21 November 2024.

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