Belgium at the FIFA World Cup

Belgium have appeared in the finals tournament of the FIFA World Cup on 14 occasions, the first being at the first FIFA World Cup in 1930 where they finished in 11th place and played the first ever World Cup match against the United States. The inaugural FIFA World Cup final was officiated by Belgian referee John Langenus.

Belgium national football team at the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia

Traditionally, Belgium's greatest rival is the 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 draw (France 1998). The team that has played the most against Belgium in the finals is the continuum USSR-Russia: five times, with three victories for Belgium and two for the Soviet Union.^[1]

Belgium's best finish in the World Cup is third, at the Russia 2018 tournament. Belgium previously finished fourth in the Mexico 1986 competition.

Images of Belgium's first World Cup match in 1930, 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

Belgian's first five appearances at the FIFA World Cup between 1930 and 1970 were not successful, as they failed to advance beyond the first round. After two scoreless defeats at the inaugural 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 to a draw (4–4) and in 1970 they achieved their first World Cup win, against El Salvador (3–0).

Belgium reached six successive World Cups from 1982 through 2002 by playing qualification rounds, a record bettered only by Spain whose 2018 World Cup is their ninth consecutive qualification (a streak going back to 1986). Every other nation with an equal or longer string of appearances has had the streak "interrupted" by automatic qualification as the host or the defending champion (the 2006 tournament was the first for which the defending champion does not automatically qualify). On top of that, in that era the Belgian team reached the second phase five out of six times.

Their fourth-place finish in the 1986 was their best placement in their World Cup history, until 2018 when they finished third after beating England (2-0) in Saint Petersburg.

1930 FIFA World Cup

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	United States	2	2	0	0	6	0	+6	4	Advance to the knockout stage
2	Paraguay	2	1	0	1	1	3	−2	2
3	Belgium	2	0	0	2	0	4	−4	0

Source: ESPN

United States	3–0	Belgium
McGhee 23'[2] Florie 45'[2] Patenaude 69'[2]	Report

13 July 1930

15:00 UYT (UTC−03:30)

Estadio Parque Central, Montevideo

Attendance: 10,000

Referee: José Macías (Argentina)

---

Paraguay	1–0	Belgium
Vargas Peña 40'[2]	Report

20 July 1930

15:00 UYT (UTC−03:30)

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.

Germany	5 – 2	Belgium
Kobierski 25' Siffling 49' Conen 66', 70', 87'	Report	Voorhoof 29', 43'

27 May 1934

16:30 (CEST)

Stadio Giovanni Berta, Florence

Attendance: ~8,000

Referee: Francesco Mattea (Italy)

1938 FIFA World Cup

France	3–1	Belgium
Veinante 1' Nicolas 16', 69'	Report	Isemborghs 38'

5 June 1938

17:00 (WEST)

Stade Olympique de Colombes, Paris

Attendance: 30,454

Referee: Hans Wüthrich (Switzerland)

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.

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	England	2	1	1	0	6	4	+2	3	Advance to the knockout stage
2	Switzerland	2	1	0	1	2	3	−1	2[a]
3	Italy	2	1	0	1	5	3	+2	2[a]
4	Belgium	2	0	1	1	5	8	−3	1

Source: FIFA
Notes:

1. Second place decided over through play-off: Switzerland 4–1 Italy

England	4–4 (a.e.t.)	Belgium
Broadis 26', 63' Lofthouse 36', 91'	Report	Anoul 5', 71' Coppens 67' Dickinson 94' (o.g.)

17 June 1954

18:10 (CET)

St. Jakob Stadium, Basel

Attendance: 40,000

Referee: Emil Schmetzer (West Germany)

---

Italy	4–1	Belgium
Pandolfini 41' (pen.) Galli 48' Frignani 58' Lorenzi 78'	Report	Anoul 81'

20 June 1954

17:00 (CET)

Cornaredo Stadium, Lugano

Attendance: 26,000

Referee: Carl Erich Steiner (Austria)

1970 FIFA World Cup

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Soviet Union	3	2	1	0	6	1	+5	5[a]	Advance to knockout stage
2	Mexico	3	2	1	0	5	0	+5	5[a]
3	Belgium	3	1	0	2	4	5	−1	2
4	El Salvador	3	0	0	3	0	9	−9	0

Source: FIFA
Notes:

1. Having finished level on both points and goal difference, the Soviet Union and Mexico were separated by the drawing of lots.

Belgium	3–0	El Salvador
Van Moer 12', 54' Lambert 76' (pen.)	Report

3 June 1970

16:00

Estadio Azteca, Mexico City

Attendance: 92,205

Referee: Andrei Rădulescu (Romania)

---

Soviet Union	4–1	Belgium
Byshovets 14', 63' Asatiani 57' Khmelnytskyi 76'	Report	Lambert 86'

6 June 1970

16:00

Estadio Azteca, Mexico City

Attendance: 95,261

Referee: Rudolf Scheurer (Switzerland)

---

Mexico	1–0	Belgium
Peña 14' (pen.)	Report

11 June 1970

16:00

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.

Group 3

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Belgium	3	2	1	0	3	1	+2	5	Advance to second round
2	Argentina	3	2	0	1	6	2	+4	4
3	Hungary	3	1	1	1	12	6	+6	3
4	El Salvador	3	0	0	3	1	13	−12	0

Source: FIFA

Argentina	0–1	Belgium
	Report	Vandenbergh 62'

13 June 1982

20:00 CEST

Camp Nou, Barcelona

Attendance: 95,500

Referee: Vojtěch Christov (Czechoslovakia)

---

Belgium	1–0	El Salvador
Coeck 19'	Report

19 June 1982

21:00 CEST

Nuevo Estadio, Elche

Attendance: 15,000

Referee: Malcolm Moffat (Northern Ireland)

---

Belgium	1–1	Hungary
Czerniatynski 76'	Report	Varga 27'

22 June 1982

21:00 CEST

Nuevo Estadio, Elche

Attendance: 37,000

Referee: Clive White (England)

Group A

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Poland	2	1	1	0	3	0	+3	3	Advance to knockout stage
2	Soviet Union	2	1	1	0	1	0	+1	3
3	Belgium	2	0	0	2	0	4	−4	0

Source: FIFA

Poland	3–0	Belgium
Boniek 4', 26', 53'	Report

28 June 1982

21:00 CEST

Camp Nou, Barcelona

Attendance: 65,000

Referee: Luis Paulino Siles (Costa Rica)

---

Belgium	0–1	Soviet Union
	Report	Oganesian 48'

1 July 1982

21:00 CEST

Camp Nou, Barcelona

Attendance: 45,000

Referee: Michel Vautrot (France)

1986 FIFA World Cup

Four years later they achieved their best World Cup run to that point 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 opponent's 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.

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Mexico (H)	3	2	1	0	4	2	+2	5	Advance to knockout stage
2	Paraguay	3	1	2	0	4	3	+1	4
3	Belgium	3	1	1	1	5	5	0	3
4	Iraq	3	0	0	3	1	4	−3	0

Source: FIFA
(H) Hosts

Belgium	1–2	Mexico
Vandenbergh 45'	Report	Quirarte 23' Sánchez 39'

3 June 1986 (first round)

12:00 CST

Estadio Azteca, Mexico City

Attendance: 110,000

Referee: Carlos Espósito (Argentina)

---

Iraq	1–2	Belgium
Radhi 59'	Report	Scifo 16' Claesen 21' (pen.)

8 June 1986 (first round)

12:00 CST

Estadio Nemesio Díez, Toluca

Attendance: 20,000

Referee: Jesús Díaz (Colombia)

---

Paraguay	2–2	Belgium
Cabañas 50', 76'	Report	Vercauteren 30' Veyt 59'

11 June 1986 (first round)

12:00 CST

Estadio Nemesio Díez, Toluca

Attendance: 16,000

Referee: Bogdan Dotchev (Bulgaria)

---

Soviet Union	3–4 (a.e.t.)	Belgium
Belanov 27', 70', 111' (pen.)	Report	Scifo 56' Ceulemans 77' Demol 102' Claesen 110'

15 June 1986 (second round)

16:00 CST

Estadio Nou Camp, León

Attendance: 32,277

Referee: Erik Fredriksson (Sweden)

---

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

22 June 1986 (quarter-final)

16:00 CST

Estadio Cuauhtémoc, Puebla

Attendance: 45,000

Referee: Siegfried Kirschen (East Germany)

---

Argentina	2–0	Belgium
Maradona 51', 63'	Report

25 June 1986 (semi-final)

16:00 CST

Estadio Azteca, Mexico City

Attendance: 114,500

Referee: Antonio Márquez Ramírez (Mexico)

---

France	4–2 (a.e.t.)	Belgium
Ferreri 27' Papin 43' Genghini 104' Amoros 111' (pen.)	Report	Ceulemans 11' Claesen 73'

28 June 1986 (third-place play-off)

12:00 CST

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]

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Spain	3	2	1	0	5	2	+3	5	Advance to knockout stage
2	Belgium	3	2	0	1	6	3	+3	4
3	Uruguay	3	1	1	1	2	3	−1	3
4	South Korea	3	0	0	3	1	6	−5	0

Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers

Belgium	2–0	South Korea
Degryse 53' De Wolf 64'	Report

12 June 1990

17:00

Stadio Marc'Antonio Bentegodi, Verona

Attendance: 32,790

Referee: Vincent Mauro (United States)

---

Belgium	3–1	Uruguay
Clijsters 16' Scifo 22' Ceulemans 48'	Report	Bengoechea 74'

17 June 1990

21:00

Stadio Marc'Antonio Bentegodi, Verona

Attendance: 33,759

Referee: Siegfried Kirschen (East Germany)

---

Belgium	1–2	Spain
Vervoort 28'	Report	Míchel 20' (pen.) Górriz 38'

21 June 1990

17:00

Stadio Marc'Antonio Bentegodi, Verona

Attendance: 35,950

Referee: Juan Carlos Loustau (Argentina)

---

England	1–0 (a.e.t.)	Belgium
Platt 119'	Report

26 June 1990 (second round)

21:00

Stadio Renato Dall'Ara, Bologna

Attendance: 34,520

Referee: Peter Mikkelsen (Denmark)

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.

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Netherlands	3	2	0	1	4	3	+1	6	Advance to knockout stage
2	Saudi Arabia	3	2	0	1	4	3	+1	6
3	Belgium	3	2	0	1	2	1	+1	6
4	Morocco	3	0	0	3	2	5	−3	0

Source: FIFA

Belgium	1–0	Morocco
Degryse 11'	Report

19 June 1994

12:30 EDT

Citrus Bowl, Orlando

Attendance: 61,219

Referee: José Torres Cadena (Colombia)

---

Belgium	1–0	Netherlands
Albert 65'	Report

25 June 1994

12:30 EDT

Citrus Bowl, Orlando

Attendance: 62,387

Referee: Renato Marsiglia (Brazil)

---

Belgium	0–1	Saudi Arabia
	Report	Al-Owairan 5'

29 June 1994

12:30 EDT

RFK Stadium, Washington

Attendance: 52,959

Referee: Hellmut Krug (Germany)

---

Germany	3 – 2	Belgium
Völler 6', 40' Klinsmann 11'	Report	Grün 8' Albert 90'

2 July 1994 (second round)

12:00

Soldier Field, Chicago

Attendance: 60,246

Referee: Kurt Röthlisberger (Switzerland)

1998 FIFA World Cup

In 1998 Belgium was one of only three teams, along with hosts and eventual world champions France and Italy, 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.

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Netherlands	3	1	2	0	7	2	+5	5	Advance to knockout stage
2	Mexico	3	1	2	0	7	5	+2	5
3	Belgium	3	0	3	0	3	3	0	3
4	South Korea	3	0	1	2	2	9	−7	1

Source: FIFA

Netherlands	0–0	Belgium
	Report

13 June 1998 (first round)

21:00

Stade de France, Saint-Denis

Attendance: 75,000

Referee: Pierluigi Collina (Italy)

---

Belgium	2–2	Mexico
Wilmots 43', 47'	Report	García Aspe 55' (pen.) Blanco 62'

20 June 1998 (first round)

17:30

Parc Lescure, Bordeaux

Attendance: 31,800

Referee: Hugh Dallas (Scotland)

---

Belgium	1–1	South Korea
Nilis 7'	Report	Yoo Sang-Chul 71'

25 June 1998 (first round)

16:00

Parc des Princes, Paris

Attendance: 45,500

Referee: Márcio Rezende de Freitas (Brazil)

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 until the 2018 world cup when Romelu Lukaku also scored his 5th World Cup goal.^[13]

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Japan (H)	3	2	1	0	5	2	+3	7	Advance to knockout stage
2	Belgium	3	1	2	0	6	5	+1	5
3	Russia	3	1	0	2	4	4	0	3
4	Tunisia	3	0	1	2	1	5	−4	1

Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Tie-breaking criteria
(H) Hosts

Japan	2–2	Belgium
Suzuki 59' Inamoto 67'	Report	Wilmots 57' Van Der Heyden 75'

4 June 2002

18:00

Saitama Stadium, Saitama

Attendance: 55,256

Referee: William Mattus (Costa Rica)

---

Tunisia	1–1	Belgium
Bouzaiene 17'	Report	Wilmots 13'

10 June 2002

18:00

Ōita Big Eye Stadium, Ōita

Attendance: 52,000

Referee: Mark Shield (Australia)

---

Belgium	3–2	Russia
Walem 7' Sonck 78' Wilmots 82'	Report	Beschastnykh 52' Sychev 88'

14 June 2002

15:30

Shizuoka Ecopa Stadium, Fukuroi, Shizuoka

Attendance: 46,640

Referee: Kim Milton Nielsen (Denmark)

---

Brazil	2–0	Belgium
Rivaldo 67' Ronaldo 87'	Report

17 June 2002 (second round)

20:30

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 advanced to the round of 16 and played the United States. The Red Devils needed 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 v t e	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

Belgium	2–1	Algeria
Fellaini 70' Mertens 80'	Report	Feghouli 25' (pen.)

17 June 2014

13:00

Estádio Mineirão, Belo Horizonte

Attendance: 56,800

Referee: Marco Rodríguez (Mexico)

---

Belgium	1–0	Russia
Origi 88'	Report

22 June 2014

13:00

Estádio do Maracanã, Rio de Janeiro

Attendance: 73,819

Referee: Felix Brych (Germany)

---

South Korea	0–1	Belgium
	Report	Vertonghen 78'

26 June 2014

17:00

Arena de São Paulo, São Paulo

Attendance: 61,397

Referee: Benjamin Williams (Australia)

---

Belgium	2–1 (a.e.t.)	United States
De Bruyne 93' Lukaku 105'	Report	Green 107'

1 July 2014 (round of 16)

17:00

Arena Fonte Nova, Salvador

Attendance: 51,227

Referee: Djamel Haimoudi (Algeria)

---

Argentina	1–0	Belgium
Higuaín 8'	Report

5 July 2014 (quarter-finals)

13:00

Estádio Nacional Mané Garrincha, Brasília

Attendance: 68,551

Referee: Nicola Rizzoli (Italy)

2018 FIFA World Cup

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Belgium	3	3	0	0	9	2	+7	9	Advance to knockout stage
2	England	3	2	0	1	8	3	+5	6
3	Tunisia	3	1	0	2	5	8	−3	3
4	Panama	3	0	0	3	2	11	−9	0

Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers

Belgium	3–0	Panama
Mertens 47' Lukaku 69', 75'	Report

18 June 2018 (2018-06-18)

18:00 MSK (UTC+3)

Fisht Olympic Stadium, Sochi

Attendance: 43,257

Referee: Janny Sikazwe (Zambia)

---

Belgium	5–2	Tunisia
E. Hazard 6' (pen.), 51' Lukaku 16', 45+3' Batshuayi 90'	Report	Bronn 18' Khazri 90+3'

23 June 2018 (2018-06-23)

15:00 MSK (UTC+3)

Spartak Stadium, Moscow

Attendance: 44,190

Referee: Jair Marrufo (United States)

---

England	0–1	Belgium
	Report	Januzaj 51'

28 June 2018 (2018-06-28)

20:00 KALT (UTC+2)

Kaliningrad Stadium, Kaliningrad

Attendance: 33,973

Referee: Damir Skomina (Slovenia)

---

Belgium	3–2	Japan
Vertonghen 69' Fellaini 74' Chadli 90+4'	Report	Haraguchi 48' Inui 52'

2 July 2018 (2018-07-02)

21:00 MSK (UTC+3)

Round of 16

Rostov Arena, Rostov-on-Don

Attendance: 41,466

Referee: Malang Diedhiou (Senegal)

---

Brazil	1–2	Belgium
Renato Augusto 76'	Report	Fernandinho 13' (o.g.) De Bruyne 31'

6 July 2018 (2018-07-06)

21:00 MSK (UTC+3)

Quarter-final

Kazan Arena, Kazan

Attendance: 42,873

Referee: Milorad Mažić (Serbia)

---

France	1–0	Belgium
Umtiti 51'	Report

10 July 2018 (2018-07-10)

21:00 MSK (UTC+3)

Semi-final

Krestovsky Stadium, Saint Petersburg

Attendance: 64,286

Referee: Andrés Cunha (Uruguay)

---

Belgium	2–0	England
Meunier 4' E. Hazard 82'	Report

14 July 2018 (2018-07-14)

17:00 MSK (UTC+3)

Third place play-off

Krestovsky Stadium, Saint Petersburg

Attendance: 64,406

Referee: Alireza Faghani (Iran)

2022 FIFA World Cup

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Morocco	3	2	1	0	4	1	+3	7	Advanced to knockout stage
2	Croatia	3	1	2	0	4	1	+3	5
3	Belgium	3	1	1	1	1	2	−1	4
4	Canada	3	0	0	3	2	7	−5	0

Source: FIFA
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers

Belgium	1–0	Canada
Batshuayi 44'	Report

23 November 2022 (2022-11-23)

22:00

Ahmad bin Ali Stadium, Al Rayyan

Attendance: 40,432

Referee: Janny Sikazwe (Zambia)

---

Belgium	0–2	Morocco
	Report	Saïss 73' Aboukhlal 90+2'

27 November 2022 (2022-11-27)

16:00

Al Thumama Stadium, Doha

Attendance: 43,738

Referee: César Arturo Ramos (Mexico)

---

Croatia	0–0	Belgium
	Report

1 December 2022 (2022-12-01)

18:00

Ahmad bin Ali Stadium, Al Rayyan

Attendance: 43,984

Referee: Anthony Taylor (England)

Overview

Tournaments

  Champions    Runners-up    Third place    Fourth place

FIFA World Cup record											Qualification record
Year	Host(s)	Round	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Squad		Pos.	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1930	Uruguay	Group stage	2	0	0	2	0	4	Squad		Participated as invitees
1934	Italy	Round of 16	1	0	0	1	2	5	Squad		2nd	2	0	1	1	6	8
1938	France		1	0	0	1	1	3	Squad		2nd	2	1	1	0	4	3
1950	Brazil	Did not enter									Did not enter
1954	Switzerland	Group stage	2	0	1	1	5	8	Squad		1st	4	3	1	0	11	6
1958	Sweden	Did not qualify									2nd	4	2	1	1	16	11
1962	Chile										3rd	4	0	0	4	3	10
1966	England										Play-off	5	3	0	2	12	5
1970	Mexico	Group stage	3	1	0	2	4	5	Squad		1st	6	4	1	1	14	8
1974	West Germany	Did not qualify									2nd	6	4	2	0	12	0
1978	Argentina										2nd	6	3	0	3	7	6
1982	Spain	Second group stage	5	2	1	2	3	5	Squad		1st	8	5	1	2	12	9
1986	Mexico	Fourth place	7	2	2	3	12	15	Squad		Play-off	8	4	2	2	9	5
1990	Italy	Round of 16	4	2	0	2	6	4	Squad		1st	8	4	4	0	15	5
1994	United States		4	2	0	2	4	4	Squad		2nd	10	7	1	2	16	5
1998	France	Group stage	3	0	3	0	3	3	Squad		Play-off	10	7	1	2	23	13
2002	South Korea  Japan	Round of 16	4	1	2	1	6	7	Squad		Play-off	10	7	2	1	27	6
2006	Germany	Did not qualify									4th	10	3	3	4	16	11
2010	South Africa										4th	10	3	1	6	13	20
2014	Brazil	Quarter-finals	5	4	0	1	6	3	Squad		1st	10	8	2	0	18	4
2018	Russia	Third place	7	6	0	1	16	6	Squad		1st	10	9	1	0	43	6
2022	Qatar	Group stage	3	1	1	1	1	2	Squad		1st	8	6	2	0	25	6
2026	Canada  Mexico  United States	To be determined									To be determined
2030	Morocco  Portugal  Spain
Total		Third place	51	21	10	20	69	74	—		14/22	141	83	27	31	302	147
Champions    Runners-up    Third place    Fourth place

Belgium's World Cup record
First Match	United States 3–0 Belgium (13 July 1930; Montevideo, Uruguay)
Biggest Win	Belgium 3–0 El Salvador  (3 June 1970; Mexico City, Mexico)  Belgium 3–0 Panama  (18 June 2018; Sochi, Russia)  Belgium 5–2 Tunisia  (23 June 2018; Moscow, Russia)
Biggest Defeat	United States 3–0 Belgium  (13 July 1930; Montevideo, Uruguay) Germany 5–2 Belgium  (27 May 1934; Florence, Italy)  Italy 4–1 Belgium  (20 June 1954; Lugano, Switzerland)  Soviet Union 4–1 Belgium  (6 June 1970; Mexico City, Mexico)  Poland 3–0 Belgium  (28 June 1982; Barcelona, Spain)
Best Result	Third place at the 2018
Worst Result	Group stage in 1930, 1934, 1938, 1954, 1970, 1998 and 2022

Matches

List of FIFA World Cup matches
Year	Round	Opponent	Score	Result	Record
1930	Round 1	United States	0–3	Loss	0–0–1
	Round 1	Paraguay	0–1	Loss	0–0–2
1934	Round 1	Germany	2–5	Loss	0–0–3
1938	Round 1	France	1–3	Loss	0–0–4
1954	Group stage	England	4–4 (a.e.t.)	Draw	0–1–4
	Group stage	Italy	1–4	Loss	0–1–5
1970	Group stage	El Salvador	3–0	Win	1–1–5
	Group stage	Soviet Union	1–4	Loss	1–1–6
	Group stage	Mexico	0–1	Loss	1–1–7
1982	Group stage 1	Argentina	1–0	Win	2–1–7
	Group stage 1	El Salvador	1–0	Win	3–1–7
	Group stage 1	Hungary	1–1	Draw	3–2–7
	Group stage 2	Poland	0–3	Loss	3–2–8
	Group stage 2	Soviet Union	0–1	Loss	3–2–9
1986	Group stage	Mexico	1–2	Loss	3–2–10
	Group stage	Iraq	2–1	Win	4–2–10
	Group stage	Paraguay	2–2	Draw	4–3–10
	Round of 16	Soviet Union	4–3 (a.e.t.)	Win	5–3–10
	Quarter-final	Spain	1–1 (a.e.t.) (5–4 p)	Draw	5–4–10
	Semi-final	Argentina	0–2	Loss	5–4–11
	Third-place match	France	2–4	Loss	5–4–12
1990	Group stage	South Korea	2–0	Win	6–4–12
	Group stage	Uruguay	3–1	Win	7–4–12
	Group stage	Spain	1–2	Loss	7–4–13
	Round of 16	England	0–1 (a.e.t.)	Loss	7–4–14
1994	Group stage	Morocco	1–0	Win	8–4–14
	Group stage	Netherlands	1–0	Win	9–4–14
	Group stage	Saudi Arabia	0–1	Loss	9–4–15
	Round of 16	Germany	2–3	Loss	9–4–16
1998	Group stage	Netherlands	0–0	Draw	9–5–16
	Group stage	Mexico	2–2	Draw	9–6–16
	Group stage	South Korea	1–1	Draw	9–7–16
2002	Group stage	Japan	2–2	Draw	9–8–16
	Group stage	Tunisia	1–1	Draw	9–9–16
	Group stage	Russia	3–2	Win	10–9–16
	Round of 16	Brazil	0–2	Loss	10–9–17
2014	Group stage	Algeria	2–1	Win	11–9–17
	Group stage	Russia	1–0	Win	12–9–17
	Group stage	South Korea	1–0	Win	13–9–17
	Round of 16	United States	2–1 (a.e.t.)	Win	14–9–17
	Quarter-final	Argentina	0–1	Loss	14–9–18
2018	Group stage	Panama	3–0	Win	15–9–18
	Group stage	Tunisia	5–2	Win	16–9–18
	Group stage	England	1–0	Win	17–9–18
	Round of 16	Japan	3–2	Win	18–9–18
	Quarter-final	Brazil	2–1	Win	19–9–18
	Semi-final	France	0–1	Loss	19–9–19
	Third-place match	England	2–0	Win	20–9–19
2022	Group stage	Canada	1–0	Win	21–9–19
	Group stage	Morocco	0–2	Loss	21–9–20
	Group stage	Croatia	0–0	Draw	21–10–20

Record players

Rank	Player	Matches	World Cups
1	Enzo Scifo	17	1986, 1990, 1994 and 1998
2	Jan Ceulemans	16	1982, 1986 and 1990
3	Franky van der Elst	14	1986, 1990, 1994 and 1998
4	Eric Gerets	12	1982, 1986 and 1990
	Thibaut Courtois	12	2014,2018 and 2022
6	Franky Vercauteren	11	1982 and 1986
	Stéphane Demol	11	1986 and 1990
	Georges Grün	11	1986, 1990 and 1994
	Eden Hazard	11	2014,2018 and 2022
	Dries Mertens	11	2014,2018 and 2022
	Jan Vertonghen	11	2014 and 2018

Goalscorers

List of FIFA World Cup goalscorers

Marc Wilmots (as trainer), Belgium's joint all-time top scorer at the World Cup

Rank	Player	Goals	World Cups
1	Marc Wilmots	5	1990 (0), 1994 (0), 1998 (2) and 2002 (3)
	Romelu Lukaku	5	2014 (1), 2018 (4) and 2022 (0)
3	Jan Ceulemans	4	1982 (0), 1986 (3) and 1990 (1)
4	Léopold Anoul	3	1954
	Nico Claesen	3	1986 (3) and 1990 (0)
	Enzo Scifo	3	1986 (2), 1990 (1), 1994 (0) and 1998 (0)
	Eden Hazard	3	2014 (0), 2018 (3) and 2022 (0)
8	Bernard Voorhoof	2	1954
	Raoul Lambert	2	1970
	Wilfried Van Moer	2	1970
	Erwin Vandenbergh	2	1982 (1) and 1986 (1)
	Marc Degryse	2	1990 (1) and 1994 (1)
	Philippe Albert	2	1990 (0) and 1994 (2)
	Dries Mertens	2	2014 (1), 2018 (1) and 2022 (0)
	Kevin de Bruyne	2	2014 (1), 2018 (1) and 2022 (0)
	Marouane Fellaini	2	2014 (1) and 2018 (1)
	Michy Batshuayi	2	2018 (1) and 2022 (1)

Awards

Team

• FIFA Fair Play Trophy 2002

Individual

• Golden Glove 1986: Jean-Marie Pfaff
• Golden Glove 1994: Michel Preud'homme
• Golden Glove 2018: Thibaut Courtois
• Best Young Player Award 1986: Enzo Scifo
• Silver Ball 2018: Eden Hazard
• FIFA All Star Team 1994: Michel Preud'homme^[14]
• FIFA All Star Team 2018: Thibaul Courtois and Eden Hazard^[15]
• FIFA.com Dream Team 2018: Thibaul Courtois and Kevin De Bruyne^[16]

See also

• Belgium national football team records
• Belgium at the UEFA European Championship