Belgium at the FIFA World Cup

Belgium have appeared in the finals tournament of the FIFA World Cup on twelve occasions, the first being at the first in 1930 where they finished in eleventh place.

Traditionally, Belgium's greatest rival is Netherlands. The two countries have met each other twice in the history of the FIFA World Cup, with one win for Belgium (USA 1994) and one tie (France 1998). The team that played most against Belgium in the finals is the continuum USSR-Russia: 5 times, with three victories for Belgium and two for the Soviet Union.[1]

Images of Belgium's first ever match on a World Cup in Uruguay 1930, the earliest World Cup, against the United States
In their golden era, Belgium featured two goalkeepers who were named the best at that position in the World Cup; Jean-Marie Pfaff (left) in 1986 and Michel Preud'homme (right) in 1994.

FIFA World Cup record

Belgium reached six successive World Cups from 1982 through 2002 by playing qualification rounds, a record bettered only by Spain whose 2014 World Cup is their eighth consecutive qualification (a streak going back to 1986). On top of that, in that era the Belgian team reached the second phase five out of six times. The preceding five participations between 1930 and 1970 were not as successful, as Belgium never survived the first round. After two scoreless defeats at the inaugurational World Cup in 1930, Belgium scored their first two World Cup goals in 1934 against Germany, by virtue of Bernard Voorhoof. However, both in 1934 and 1938 the Red Devils went out with a single loss. In 1954 they held England at a tie (4–4) and in 1970 they achieved their first World Cup win, against El Salvador (3–0).

1930 FIFA World Cup

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
 United States 220060+64
 Paraguay 210113−22
 Belgium 200204−40

13 July 1930
15:00 UYT (UTC−03:30)
United States  3–0  Belgium
McGhee  23'[2]
Florie  45'[2]
Patenaude  69'[2]		 Report
Estadio Parque Central, Montevideo
Attendance: 10,000
Referee: José Macías (Argentina)

20 July 1930
15:00 UYT (UTC−03:30)
Paraguay  1–0  Belgium
Vargas Peña  40'[2] Report
Estadio Centenario, Montevideo
Attendance: 900
Referee: Ricardo Vallarino (Uruguay)

1934 FIFA World Cup

The group stage used in the first World Cup was discarded in favour of a straight knockout tournament.

27 May 1934
16:30 (CEST)
Germany  5 – 2  Belgium
Kobierski  25'
Siffling  49'
Conen  66', 70', 87'		 Report Voorhoof  29', 43'
Stadio Giovanni Berta, Florence
Attendance: ~8,000
Referee: Francesco Mattea (Italy)

1938 FIFA World Cup

5 June 1938
17:00 (WEST)
France  3–1  Belgium
Veinante  1'
Nicolas  16', 69'		 Report Isemborghs  38'

1954 FIFA World Cup

According to journalist Henry Guldemont, some of his Swiss colleagues regarded the 1954 Belgian team as "favourites for the world title" after a promising 4–4 opener against England.[3][4] However, in the second and last group match against Italy, Belgium was defeated 1–4 and was unable to proceed to the finals.

Team Pld W D L GF GA Pts
 England 2110643
  Switzerland 2101232
 Italy 2101532
 Belgium 2011581

17 June 1954
18:10 (CET)
England  4–4 (a.e.t.)  Belgium
Broadis  26', 63'
Lofthouse  36', 91'		 Report Anoul  5', 71'
Coppens  67'
Dickinson  94' (o.g.)
St. Jakob Stadium, Basel
Attendance: 40,000
Referee: Emil Schmetzer (West Germany)

20 June 1954
17:00 (CET)
Italy  4–1  Belgium
Pandolfini  41' (pen.)
Galli  48'
Frignani  58'
Lorenzi  78'		 Report Anoul  81'
Cornaredo Stadium, Lugano
Attendance: 26,000
Referee: Carl Erich Steiner (Austria)

1970 FIFA World Cup

Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
 Soviet Union 321061+55
 Mexico 321050+55
 Belgium 310245−12
 El Salvador 300309−90

3 June 1970
16:00
Belgium  3–0  El Salvador
Van Moer  12', 54'
Lambert  76' (pen.)		 Report
Estadio Azteca, Mexico City
Attendance: 92,205
Referee: Andrei Rădulescu (Romania)

6 June 1970
16:00
Soviet Union  4–1  Belgium
Byshovets  14', 63'
Asatiani  57'
Khmelnytskyi  76'		 Report Lambert  86'

11 June 1970
16:00
Mexico  1–0  Belgium
Peña  14' (pen.) Report
Estadio Azteca, Mexico City
Attendance: 108,192
Referee: Ángel Norberto Coerezza (Argentina)

1982 FIFA World Cup

In the first game of the 1982 FIFA World Cup, held at Camp Nou, Belgium celebrated one of their most famous victories: a 0–1 win over defending champions Argentina with a goal by Erwin Vandenbergh. After pushing through to the second group stage of that tournament, Belgium was stunned by a Polish hat-trick from Zbigniew Boniek. The decisive match against the Soviet Union ended in a 0–1 loss.

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
 Belgium 321031+25
 Argentina 320162+44
 Hungary 3111126+63
 El Salvador 3003113−120

13 June 1982
20:00 CEST
Argentina  0–1  Belgium
Report Vandenbergh  62'
Camp Nou, Barcelona
Attendance: 95,500
Referee: Vojtěch Christov (Czechoslovakia)

19 June 1982
21:00 CEST
Belgium  1–0  El Salvador
Coeck  19' Report
Nuevo Estadio, Elche
Attendance: 15,000
Referee: Malcolm Moffat (Northern Ireland)

22 June 1982
21:00 CEST
Belgium  1–1  Hungary
Czerniatynski  76' Report Varga  27'
Nuevo Estadio, Elche
Attendance: 37,000
Referee: Clive White (England)
Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
 Poland 211030+33
 Soviet Union 211010+13
 Belgium 200204−40

28 June 1982
21:00 CEST
Poland  3–0  Belgium
Boniek  4', 26', 53' Report
Camp Nou, Barcelona
Attendance: 65,000
Referee: Luis Paulino Siles (Costa Rica)

1 July 1982
21:00 CEST
Belgium  0–1  Soviet Union
Report Oganesian  48'
Camp Nou, Barcelona
Attendance: 45,000
Referee: Michel Vautrot (France)

1986 FIFA World Cup

Four years later they achieved their best-ever World Cup run when they placed fourth at Mexico 1986. Picked up as the best third-placed team, in the knockout phase Belgium surprisingly won against favourites Soviet Union after extra time (3–4). Different from the previous World Cup, the Red Devils were able to surmount an opponents' hat-trick (this time from Igor Belanov), something that only Brazil and Austria achieved as well in World Cup history (respectively in 1938 and 1954).[5] Belgium also beat Spain on penalties after a 1–1 draw, but they conceded a 2–0 loss against eventual champions Argentina in the semifinal - both goals scored by football icon Diego Maradona. In the third-place match Belgium lost to France (4–2) after extra time. Captain and midfielder Jan Ceulemans and goalkeeper Jean-Marie Pfaff were the first Belgian players to be selected in the All-Star Team of a World Cup. Enzo Scifo was elected as best young player of the tournament.

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
 Mexico 321042+25
 Paraguay 312043+14
 Belgium 31115503
 Iraq 300314−30

3 June 1986 (First Round)
12:00 CST
Belgium  1 – 2  Mexico
Vandenbergh  45' Report Quirarte  23'
Sánchez  39'

8 June 1986 (First Round)
12:00 CST
Iraq  1 – 2  Belgium
Radhi  59' Report Scifo  16'
Claesen  21' (pen.)
Estadio Nemesio Díez, Toluca
Attendance: 20,000
Referee: Jesús Díaz (Colombia)

11 June 1986 (First Round)
12:00 CST
Paraguay  2 – 2  Belgium
Cabañas  50', 76' Report Vercauteren  30'
Veyt  59'

15 June 1986 (Second Round)
16:00 CST
Soviet Union  3 – 4 (a.e.t.)  Belgium
Belanov  27', 70', 111' (pen.) Report Scifo  56'
Ceulemans  77'
Demol  102'
Claesen  110'
Estadio Nou Camp, León
Attendance: 32,277
Referee: Erik Fredriksson (Sweden)

22 June 1986 (Quarter-Final)
16:00 CST
Spain  1 – 1 (a.e.t.)  Belgium
Señor  85' Report Ceulemans  35'
  Penalties  
Señor
Eloy
Chendo
Butragueño
Víctor 		4 – 5 Claesen
Scifo
Broos
Vervoort
L. Van Der Elst

25 June 1986 (Semi-Final)
16:00 CST
Argentina  2 – 0  Belgium
Maradona  51', 63' Report

28 June 1986 (Third Place Play-Off)
12:00 CST
France  4 – 2 (a.e.t.)  Belgium
Ferreri  27'
Papin  43'
Genghini  104'
Amoros  111' (pen.)		 Report Ceulemans  11'
Claesen  73'
Estadio Cuauhtémoc, Puebla
Attendance: 21,000
Referee: George Courtney (England)

1990 FIFA World Cup

In the 1990 FIFA World Cup, Belgium survived the group phase by wins against South Korea and Uruguay (2–0 and 3–1). In the second round they did well against England, dominating the match by periods and with Enzo Scifo even hitting the woodwork twice.[6] With a persisting 0–0 penalties seemed unavoidable, but eventually they lost in the last minute of extra time after a "nearly blind" volley by David Platt.[7] Scifo was elected as second best player of the 1990 World Cup after Lothar Matthäus.[8]

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
 Spain 321052+35
 Belgium 320163+34
 Uruguay 311123−13
 South Korea 300316−50

12 June 1990
17:00
Belgium  2–0  South Korea
Degryse  53'
De Wolf  64'		 Report
Stadio Marc'Antonio Bentegodi, Verona
Attendance: 32,790
Referee: Vincent Mauro (United States)

17 June 1990
21:00
Belgium  3–1  Uruguay
Clijsters  16'
Scifo  22'
Ceulemans  48'		 Report Bengoechea  74'

21 June 1990
17:00
Belgium  1–2  Spain
Vervoort  28' Report Míchel  20' (pen.)
Górriz  38'

26 June 1990 (Second Round)
21:00
England  1–0 (a.e.t.)  Belgium
Platt  119' Report

1994 FIFA World Cup

In the 1994 FIFA World Cup two 1–0 wins in round 1 against Morocco and the Netherlands were remarkably not enough to finish second, but Belgium advanced as they were among the best four third-placed teams. In the second round they lost to title defenders Germany (3–2). During this last game, the Belgians were frustrated that Swiss referee Kurt Röthlisberger had not awarded them a penalty kick when German defender Thomas Helmer brought down their striker Josip Weber in the penalty area with a bump from behind.[9] After the match, Röthlisberger was sent home. Michel Preud'homme was elected as best goalkeeper of the tournament.

Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
 Netherlands 3 2 0 1 4 3 +16
 Saudi Arabia 3 2 0 1 4 3 +16
 Belgium 3 2 0 1 2 1 +16
 Morocco 3 0 0 3 2 5 −30

19 June 1994
12:30 EDT
Belgium  1–0  Morocco
Degryse  11' Report
Citrus Bowl, Orlando
Attendance: 61,219
Referee: José Torres Cadena (Colombia)

25 June 1994
12:30 EDT
Belgium  1–0  Netherlands
Albert  65' Report
Citrus Bowl, Orlando
Attendance: 62,387
Referee: Renato Marsiglia (Brazil)

29 June 1994
12:30 EDT
Belgium  0–1  Saudi Arabia
Report Al-Owairan  5'
RFK Stadium, Washington
Attendance: 52,959
Referee: Hellmut Krug (Germany)

2 July 1994 (Second Round)
12:00
Germany  3 – 2  Belgium
Völler  6', 40'
Klinsmann  11'		 Report Grün  8'
Albert  90'

1998 FIFA World Cup

In 1998 Belgium was one of only two teams, together with hosts and eventual world champions 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 knockout stage. In 1998 Enzo Scifo and Franky Van der Elst appeared in their fourth World Cups, setting a Belgian record.

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
 Netherlands 312072+55
 Mexico 312075+25
 Belgium 30303303
 South Korea 301229−71

13 June 1998 (First Round)
21:00
Netherlands  0–0  Belgium
Report
Stade de France, Saint-Denis
Attendance: 75,000
Referee: Pierluigi Collina (Italy)

20 June 1998 (First Round)
17:30
Belgium  2–2  Mexico
Wilmots  43', 47' Report García Aspe  55' (pen.)
Blanco  62'
Parc Lescure, Bordeaux
Attendance: 31,800
Referee: Hugh Dallas (Scotland)

25 June 1998 (First Round)
16:00
Belgium  1–1  South Korea
Nilis  7' Report Yoo Sang-Chul  71'

2002 FIFA World Cup

With two ties, the 2002 FIFA World Cup 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. Belgium won the decisive group match against Russia with 3–2 and in the second round they had to play against eventual champions Brazil. In this 1/8th final, referee Peter Prendergast disallowed a headed goal by Wilmots that would have given Belgium a 0–1 lead, after a "phantom foul" on Roque Júnior.[10] Eventually Brazil won 2–0, but Brazilian coach Luiz Felipe Scolari admitted after this match that Belgium was a tough edge and after the tournament he declared that the match against the Red Devils had been the hardest for Brazil to win.[11] With the World Cup final still to go, the team did win the tournament's fair-play award.[12] Marc Wilmots equalled the record of Enzo Scifo and Franky Van der Elst by appearing in 4 World Cup squads, although he did not 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.[13]

Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
 Japan 3 2 1 0 5 2 +37
 Belgium 3 1 2 0 6 5 +15
 Russia 3 1 0 2 4 4 03
 Tunisia 3 0 1 2 1 5 −41

4 June 2002
18:00
Japan  2–2  Belgium
Suzuki  59'
Inamoto  67'		 Report Wilmots  57'
Van Der Heyden  75'
Saitama Stadium, Saitama
Attendance: 55,256
Referee: William Mattus (Costa Rica)

10 June 2002
18:00
Tunisia  1–1  Belgium
Bouzaiene  17' Report Wilmots  13'
Ōita Big Eye Stadium, Ōita
Attendance: 52,000
Referee: Mark Shield (Australia)

14 June 2002
15:30
Belgium  3–2  Russia
Walem  7'
Sonck  78'
Wilmots  82'		 Report Beschastnykh  52'
Sychev  88'

17 June 2002 (Second Round)
20:30
Brazil  2–0  Belgium
Rivaldo  67'
Ronaldo  87'		 Report
Kobe Wing Stadium, Kobe
Attendance: 40,440
Referee: Peter Prendergast (Jamaica)

2014 FIFA World Cup

In 2014, Belgium started as group favourites and beat all group opponents with the smallest margin. Thereafter, they played a round of 16 match against the United States in which American goalkeeper Tim Howard made 15 saves,[14][upper-alpha 1] crowning himself man of the match.[15] The Red Devils needed the extra time to proceed to the next stage (2–1), where they faced Argentina. In a balanced quarter-final against the Albiceleste, the World Cup ended for Belgium as they failed to equalize after Gonzalo Higuaín's early goal.

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Belgium 3 3 0 0 4 1 +3 9 Advance to knockout stage
2  Algeria 3 1 1 1 6 5 +1 4
3  Russia 3 0 2 1 2 3 −1 2
4  South Korea 3 0 1 2 3 6 −3 1
Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Tie-breaking criteria

17 June 2014
13:00
Belgium  2–1  Algeria
Fellaini  70'
Mertens  80'		 Report Feghouli  25' (pen.)

22 June 2014
13:00
Belgium  1-0  Russia
Origi  88' Report

1 July 2014 (Round of 16)
17:00
Belgium  2–1 (a.e.t.)  United States
De Bruyne  93'
Lukaku  105'		 Report Green  107'

5 July 2014 (Quarter Finals)
13:00
Argentina  1–0  Belgium
Higuaín  8' Report

Overview

Tournaments

     Champions       Runners-up       Third place       Fourth place

Belgium's FIFA World Cup record Qualification record
Host nation(s)
and year		 Round Pos Pld W D* L GF GA Squad Outcome Pld W D L GF GA
Uruguay 1930 Round 1 11th of 13 2 0 0 2 0 4 Squad Qualified as invitees
Italy 1934 15th of 16 1 0 0 1 2 5 Squad 2nd of 4 2 0 1 1 6 8
France 1938 13th of 15 1 0 0 1 1 3 Squad 2nd of 4 2 1 1 0 4 3
Brazil 1950 Withdrew[16] Withdrew
Switzerland 1954 Group stage 12th of 16 2 0 1 1 5 8 Squad 1st of 3 4 3 1 0 11 6
Sweden 1958 Did not qualify 2nd of 3 4 2 1 1 16 11
Chile 1962 3rd of 3 4 0 0 4 3 10
England 1966 1st of 4, playoff loss 5 3 0 2 12 5
Mexico 1970 Group stage 10th of 16 3 1 0 2 4 5 Squad 1st of 4 6 4 1 1 14 8
West Germany 1974 Did not qualify 2nd of 4 6 4 2 0 12 0
Argentina 1978 2nd of 4 6 3 0 3 7 6
Spain 1982 Group stage 2 10th of 24 5 2 1 2 3 5 Squad 1st of 5 8 5 1 2 12 9
Mexico 1986 Fourth place 4th of 24 7 2 2* 3 12 15 Squad 2nd of 4, playoff win 8 4 2 2 9 5
Italy 1990 Round of 16 11th of 24 4 2 0 2 6 4 Squad 1st of 5 8 4 4 0 15 5
United States 1994 11th of 24 4 2 0 2 4 4 Squad 2nd of 6 10 7 1 2 16 5
France 1998 Group stage 19th of 32 3 0 3 0 3 3 Squad 2nd of 5, playoff win 10 7 1 2 23 13
South Korea Japan 2002 Round of 16 14th of 32 4 1 2 1 6 7 Squad 2nd of 5, playoff win 10 7 2 1 27 6
Germany 2006 Did not qualify 4th of 6 10 3 3 4 16 11
South Africa 2010 4th of 6 10 3 1 6 13 20
Brazil 2014 Quarter-finals 6th of 32 5 4 0 1 6 3 Squad 1st of 6 10 8 2 0 18 4
Russia 2018 To be determined To be determined 4 4 0 0 21 1
Qatar 2022
Total Best: Fourth place 12/20 41 14 9 18 52 66 — Total 127 72 24 31 255 136
     Champions       Runners-up       Third place       Fourth place
* Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

Matches

Top goalscorers

Correct following the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

Marc Wilmots (as trainer), Belgium's all-time top scorer at the World Cup
No. Name Goals World Cups
1Marc Wilmots51998 and 2002
2 Jan Ceulemans41986 and 1990
3 Léopold Anoul31954
Enzo Scifo31986 and 1990
Nico Claesen31986
6 Bernard Voorhoof21934
Wilfried Van Moer21970
Raoul Lambert21970
Erwin Vandenbergh21982 and 1986
Marc Degryse21990 and 1994
Philippe Albert21994

See also

Footnotes

  1. ↑ FIFA's initial match statistics showed 16 saves, and many news sources continue to use this number. The official FIFA statistics were updated on July 5, 2014 to show 15 saves.

References

  1. ↑ "Head-to-Head: Belgium v Russia". FIFA.com.
  2. 1 2 3 4 This is one of several goals for which the statistical details are disputed. The goalscorers and timings used here are those of FIFA, the official record. Some other sources, such as RSSSF, state a different scorer, timing, or both. See "World Cup 1930 finals". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation (RSSSF). Archived from the original on 1 January 2007. Retrieved 15 August 2010.
  3. ↑ Guldemont 1978, p. ?.
  4. ↑ Bilic, Pierre (3 Oct 2013). "de Rode Duivels in het collectieve geheugen". Sport/Voetbalmagazine. Roeselare: Roularta Media Group NV.
  5. ↑ "Classic football - matches". FIFA. 26 Aug 2012.
  6. ↑ Edworthy 1997, pp. 138-139.
  7. ↑ Witzig 2006, p. 167.
  8. ↑ "Scifo: I wouldn't change a thing". FIFA News. 14 Sep 2009.
  9. ↑ Lisi 2011, p. 263.
  10. ↑ Witzig 2006, p. 289.
  11. ↑ "Scolari praises team effort". BBC Sport. 17 Jun 2002.
  12. ↑ "Belgium honoured with the FIFA Fair Play Award". FIFA News. 29 Jun 2002.
  13. ↑ "Belgium at the World Cups - Goalscorers at World Cups". thefifaworldcups.com. Retrieved 18 January 2014.
  14. ↑ "Official FIFA statistics, updated July 5, 2014" (PDF). July 5, 2014. Retrieved December 29, 2014.
  15. ↑ "World Cup 2014: Tim Howard makes record number of saves". BBC Sport. 2 July 2014. Retrieved 3 July 2014.
  16. ↑ Lisi 2007, p. 47.

Bibliography

External links

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