Belgium national football team

Belgium

Nickname(s)	De Rode Duivels Les Diables rouges Die Roten Teufel (The Red Devils)
Association	Royal Belgian Football Association (RBFA)
Confederation	UEFA (Europe)
Head coach	Domenico Tedesco
Captain	Kevin De Bruyne
Most caps	Jan Vertonghen (154)[a]
Top scorer	Romelu Lukaku (83)[a]
Home stadium	King Baudouin Stadium
FIFA code	BEL
First colours Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current	3 1 (4 April 2024)[1]
Highest	1 (November 2015 – March 2016, September 2018 – March 2022[1])
Lowest	71 (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
Appearances	14 (first in 1930)
Best result	Third place (2018)
European Championship
Appearances	6 (first in 1972)
Best result	Runners-up (1980)
Nations League Finals
Appearances	1 (first in 2021)
Best result	Fourth place (2021)
Olympic Games
Appearances	5 (first in 1900)
Best result	Gold medal (1920)
Medal record Men's football FIFA World Cup 2018 Russia Team UEFA European Championship 1980 Italy Team 1972 Belgium Team Olympic Games 1920 Antwerp Team 1900 Paris Team
Website	rbfa.be

The Belgium national football team^[b] officially represents 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 1982 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 Cup and six UEFA European Championship, and featured at three Olympic football tournament, 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 (Spain had topped the ranking in late 2008 without winning the World Cup, but had won the European titles in 1964 and 2008; while the Netherlands topped the ranking in August 2011 without a World Cup titles, but won the European titles in 1988).

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