Belgian team’s supervisory body the Royal Belgian Football Association from 1920 to 1938, from 1982 to 2002, and again after 2014, Belgium’s regular representation at the highest international level has been replaced by mostly failed qualifying rounds. Most of Belgium’s home matches are played at the King Bowden Stadium in Brussels. Belgium Football history.

The Belgian national team has competed in three or four major football tournaments. He appeared in the finals of fourteen FIFA World Cups and six UEFA European Championships and participated in three Olympic football tournaments, including the football he won at the 1920 Summer Olympics. Other notable performances include victories against four world champions – West Germany, Brazil, Argentina, and France – between 1954 and 2002.

Main History

Belgium’s first international match was against France on 1 May 1904 in Brussels. It was also his first international match for his opponents as it was the first match between two independent European countries. The match, which was watched by 1,500 people, ended in a 3-3 draw, and the Evence Coppee Trophy was shared between the two countries. Twelve days later, France and Belgium joined five other national teams to form FIFA.

Belgium had a feud with the Netherlands which led to the Low Countries Derby which is still a major feud in football matches today. At the time, Belgium was one of the top 12 teams to have participated in the first FIFA World Cup. The team, though struggling in their group, lost to Argentina and Wales. In 1910, William Maxwell, a former Scottish player, was appointed manager of Belgium after being runner-up in the 1910 FIFA World Cup in Austria. Maxwell will lead them to the next World Cup in England, where Belgium will be in fourth place after losing to England’s final runner-up.

Belgium Football team

During the national player career of the most acclaimed Belgian footballer of the 20th century, forward Paul van Hammest. Belgium finished third as the host of UEFA Euro 1972. After that, he experienced two golden eras with many promising players. In the first round, which lasted from the 1980s to the early 1990s, the team finished runner-up in UEFA Euro 1980 and fourth in the 1986 FIFA World Cup.

Second, under the guidance of Mark Wilmots and later Roberto Martinez in the 2010s. Belgium topped the FIFA world rankings for the first time in November 2015. And finished third in the 2018 FIFA World Cup. To date, Belgium is the only national team in the world to top the FIFA rankings without winning a World Cup. Or a continental trophy (Spain topped the rankings without winning the World Cup at the end of 2008. But won the European title in 1964).

Early History

Belgium was one of the first European countries to play football. His practice in Belgium began on October 26, 1863, when an Irish student entered the fair’s Josephites College with a leather ball. Initially, an elite hobby, the Association Football transformed rugby into Belgium’s most popular football sport over the decades. On 1 September 1895, football, athletics, cricket, and cycling Ten clubs founded the Belgian Sports Board Union Belgium.

A year after which the UBSSA held its first annual league in Belgian football.
On October 11, 1900, Jorge Diaz, Honorary President of Beershot AC, announced that Antwerp would host a series of challenging matches between the best football teams in Europe. After some organizational problems, on 28 April 1901, Beershoot’s pitch hosted its first tournament. In Belgium’s A-squad and a Dutch B-team competed against Coupe Vanden Abeele. Belgium won all three follow-up matches, beating the Netherlands.

On 1 May 1904, Belgium played its first official match against France. His draw did not claim the Evans Copy Trophy. Twenty days later, the football boards of both countries were among the seven founders of FIFA. At the time, Belgium’s squad was select by a committee of six or seven major clubs in the country. Belgium Football history.

In 1906, the national team players were nickname the Red Devils because of their red jerseys. And four years later, former Scottish footballer William Maxwell replaced the UBSA committee as his manager. Since 1912, the UBSSA has ruled football only and has been rename the UBSFA. During World War II, the national team played only unrecognized friendly games, including more matches against France.

Summer Olympics

At his first official appearance at the 1920 Summer Olympics. The Red Devils won a gold medal on home soil after a controversial final in which their Czechoslovak opponents dropped off the pitch. At the 1920 Summer Olympics, he won fairly (four wins in seven matches) and played his first intercontinental match against Argentina. Over the next decade, however, Belgium lost all their matches in the first three FIFA World Cup finals.

According to historian Richard Hanshaw, “the development of (football) in Scandinavia, Central Europe, and South America left Belgium far behind.” Although World War II disrupted international football competitions in the 1940s. The Belgian team remained active with unofficial matches against other Allied squads. Belgium Football history.

1st titles

Moving towards 1920, Belgium competed in its first Olympics on home soil. Predicting a gold medal, they reached the final where they will face the Netherlands. The match ended in a victory with two goals from Robert Copy and Henry Larno. Then, two years later, the 1922 FIFA World Cup took place in the Netherlands, with the team reaching the quarter-finals. He will take advantage of the farewell to become world champion for the first time. While his opponent will once again be the Netherlands. They became the first team to win both the Summer Olympics and the FIFA World Cup. Belgium Football history.

The victory will be short-live for the next tournament as they lost to Egypt in the quarter-finals. Then in the 1926 FIFA World Cup, he was defeate by Austria, which led to the retirement of Henry Larno after playing 25 matches for Belgium. Success came when they were knock out in the quarter-finals of the 1928 Summer Olympics. And failed to qualify for the World Cup in 1930, which was not their first time in the final. For more details click here