Belgium National Team

The Belgian National Football Team at the FIFA World Cup


Belgian national football team has a long tradition of participating at the FIFA World Cup competition as they made their debut at the World Cup in 1930. They never managed to win the title at the World Cup but they had several good competitions where they performed very well. Their first performance at the World Cup did not end well for them as the finished in the eleventh place. Since then, they had many good and not so good moments.

20th Century

Belgian national football team debuted at the FIFA World Cup in 1930 and they managed to secure their place in the next two World Cups. However, since 1938 to 1954, Belgium was not able to win their place in the competition and that was one of the darkest periods in Belgian football history. In 1954, Belgium was considered as one of the main favorites for the titles after their game against England in the first round finished draw. However, they were not able to meet those expectations as they finished in the fourth place in the group stage of the competition. After that World Cup, it will take Belgium almost twenty years before they would be able to return to the FIFA World Cup. Between 1954 and 1970, Belgian football was not in a good place and they had huge problems with their team. Only in 1970, Belgian national team managed to secure their place at the World Cup but even then they were not able to advance from the group stage.

After 1970 World Cup, Belgian national football team would go on to miss the 1974 and 1978 World Cup and they would return to this competition once again in 1982. However, this time it was different as Belgium won the first place in the group. In the group stage, they also managed to defeat the defending champion Argentina which made them a dark horse of the competition. Despite that, they were eliminated from the competition in the second stage of the World Cup. Four years after that World Cup, Belgium return to the competition in Mexico 1986. New rules of the competition enabled Belgium to advance to the next stage even though the finished in the third place in the group stage. That year, Belgium would go on to the semi-finals where they would be defeated by Argentina which meant that Belgium will be fighting for the third place. In the third place game, Belgium faced France but they were not able to win in that game as France won with the score 4-2. Despite that, Belgium won the fourth place and that is still their best result at the FIFA World Cup. After that, at the 1990, 1994, and 1998 World Cup, Belgium did not have much success even though they advanced to the eliminated stage of the competition at each of those World Cups. Each time, they were eliminated in the second round of the competition and they were not able to come even close to the fourth place that they won in 1986 in Mexico.

21st Century

At the turn of the century, it was expected that Belgium will be performing much better as they had a very good team. However, at the first World Cup of 21st century, the 2002 World Cup in South Korea and Japan, managed to win the second place in the group and advance to the knockout stage. In the first round of the knockout stage, they faced Brazil who eventually went and won the competition and Belgium was not able to do anything in that match and they were defeated with the score 2-0. Since then, Belgium was in serious problems when it comes to their performances at World Cup as they were not able to secure their place in the competition for twelve years. Only in 2014, Belgium returned to the World Cup scene and at that moment, huge things were expected from them as they were one of the best teams in the qualifications. At that World Cup, Belgium won the first place in the group stage and advanced to the knockout stage.

In the first round of the knockout stage, Belgium faced the United States. It was a tough match and the regular 90 minutes of the game finished without a winner. That meant that they will be playing extra time and in those periods, Belgium proved to be much more successful and they won that game with the score 2-1. After eliminating the United States, Belgium was to face Argentina in the quarter-finals. Argentina was one of the biggest favorites for the title and that was felt in the match. With the early goal from Higuain, Argentina managed to eliminate Belgium from the 2014 World Cup. However, Belgium has already secured their place at the 2018 World Cup that will be played in Russia and there, they will be one of the biggest contenders for the title as they have never been stronger. The Rubik's Cube is the most popular puzzle toy. Read the beginner's solution guide to learn how to solve it easily.

Belgian National Stadium
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