Belgium at the UEFA European Championship

For the women's team, see Belgium at the UEFA Women's Championship.

The UEFA European Championship is the main football competition of the men's national football teams governed by UEFA (the Union of European Football Associations). Held every four years since 1960, in the even-numbered year between World Cup tournaments, it was originally called the UEFA European Nations Cup, changing to the current name in 1968. Starting with the 1996 tournament, specific championships are often referred to in the form "Euro 2008" or whichever year is appropriate. Prior to entering the tournament, all teams other than the host nations (which qualify automatically) compete in a qualifying process.

Belgium have participated in seven UEFA European Championships finals, those held in 1972, 1980, 1984, 2000, 2016, 2020 (which was postponed to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic) and 2024. As of 1 July 2024, they have played 26 matches: twelve wins, three draws and eleven losses.

Overview

Overall record

  Champions    Runners-up    Third place    Fourth Place

Line-ups for the UEFA Euro 1980 final in which Belgium (red) faced the 1976 runners-up West Germany (white). The respective coaches were Guy Thys and Jupp Derwall.

UEFA European Championship record												Qualifying record
Year	Host(s)	Round	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Squad		Pos.	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1960	France	Did not enter										Did not enter
1964	Spain	Did not qualify										Preliminary round	2	0	0	2	2	4
1968	Italy											2nd	6	3	1	2	14	9
1972	Belgium	Third place	3rd	2	1	0	1	3	3	Squad		Quarter-finals	8	5	2	1	13	4
1976	Yugoslavia	Did not qualify										Quarter-finals	8	3	2	3	7	10
1980	Italy	Runners-up	2nd	4	1	2	1	4	4	Squad		1st	8	4	4	0	12	5
1984	France	Group stage	6th	3	1	0	2	4	8	Squad		1st	6	4	1	1	12	8
1988	West Germany	Did not qualify										3rd	8	3	3	2	16	8
1992	Sweden											3rd	6	2	1	3	7	6
1996	England											3rd	10	4	3	3	17	13
2000	Belgium  Netherlands	Group stage	12th	3	1	0	2	2	5	Squad		Qualified as hosts
2004	Portugal	Did not qualify										3rd	8	5	1	2	11	9
2008	Austria   Switzerland											5th	14	5	3	6	14	16
2012	Poland  Ukraine											3rd	10	4	3	3	21	15
2016	France	Quarter-finals	6th	5	3	0	2	9	5	Squad		1st	10	7	2	1	24	5
2020	Europe		5th	5	4	0	1	9	3	Squad		1st	10	10	0	0	40	3
2024	Germany	Round of 16	10th	4	1	1	2	2	2	Squad		1st	8	6	2	0	22	4
2028	United Kingdom  Ireland	To be determined										To be determined
Total		Runners-up	7/17	26	12	3	11	33	30	—		7/17	122	65	28	29	232	119
Champions    Runners-up    Third place/Semi-finalists

List of matches

List of UEFA European Championship matches
Year	Round	Opponent	Score	Result
1972	Semi-finals	West Germany	1–2	Loss
	Third place match	Hungary	2–1	Win
1980	Group stage	England	1–1	Draw
		Spain	2–1	Win
		Italy	0–0	Draw
	Final	West Germany	1–2	Loss
1984	Group stage	Yugoslavia	2–0	Win
		France	0–5	Loss
		Denmark	2–3	Loss
2000	Group stage	Sweden	2–1	Win
		Italy	0–2	Loss
		Turkey	0–2	Loss
2016	Group stage	Italy	0–2	Loss
		Republic of Ireland	3–0	Win
		Sweden	1–0	Win
	Round of 16	Hungary	4–0	Win
	Quarter-finals	Wales	1–3	Loss
2020	Group stage	Russia	3–0	Win
		Denmark	2–1	Win
		Finland	2–0	Win
	Round of 16	Portugal	1–0	Win
	Quarter-finals	Italy	1–2	Loss
2024	Group stage	Slovakia	0–1	Loss
		Romania	2–0	Win
		Ukraine	0–0	Draw
	Round of 16	France	0–1	Loss

Euro 1972

Main article: UEFA Euro 1972

Belgium hosted the European Championship twice, as they were chosen amongst the four semi-finalists to host the event, and ended third by beating Hungary.

Final tournament

Main article: UEFA Euro 1972 final tournament

Semi-finals

Belgium	1–2	West Germany
Polleunis 83'	Report	Müller 24', 71'

14 June 1972 (1972-06-14)

20:00

Bosuilstadion, Antwerp

Attendance: 55,669

Referee: William Mullan (Scotland)

---

Third place play-off

Hungary	1–2	Belgium
Kű 53' (pen.)	Report	Lambert 24' Van Himst 28'

17 June 1972 (1972-06-17)

20:00

Stade Maurice Dufrasne, Liège

Attendance: 6,184

Referee: Johan Einar Boström (Sweden)

Euro 1980

Main article: UEFA Euro 1980

Under the guidance of manager Guy Thys, Belgium achieved their best European result at the 1980 edition in Italy. After finishing first in the group phase, before football nations Italy, England and Spain, Belgium stood in the final against West Germany. After the German opener from Horst Hrubesch and the penalty equalizer from René Vandereycken, the match seemed to go in extra time. Two minutes before the end of the regular playing time, Hrubesch's second goal ended the Belgian dream of winning a first major (non-Olympic) tournament.

Group stage

Main article: UEFA Euro 1980 Group 2

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Belgium	3	1	2	0	3	2	+1	4	Advance to final
2	Italy (H)	3	1	2	0	1	0	+1	4	Advance to third place play-off
3	England	3	1	1	1	3	3	0	3
4	Spain	3	0	1	2	2	4	−2	1

Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
(H) Hosts

Belgium	1–1	England
Ceulemans 29'	Report	Wilkins 26'

12 June 1980 (1980-06-12)

17:45

Stadio Comunale, Turin

Attendance: 15,186

Referee: Heinz Aldinger (West Germany)

---

Belgium	2–1	Spain
Gerets 17' Cools 65'	Report	Quini 36'

15 June 1980 (1980-06-15)

17:45

San Siro, Milan

Attendance: 11,430

Referee: Charles Corver (Netherlands)

---

Italy	0–0	Belgium
	Report

18 June 1980 (1980-06-18)

20:30

Stadio Olimpico, Rome

Attendance: 42,318

Referee: António Garrido (Portugal)

Knockout stage

Main article: UEFA Euro 1980 knockout stage

Final

Main article: UEFA Euro 1980 final

Belgium	1–2	West Germany
Vandereycken 75' (pen.)	Report	Hrubesch 10', 88'

22 June 1980 (1980-06-22)

20:30

Stadio Olimpico, Rome

Attendance: 47,860^[1]

Referee: Nicolae Rainea (Romania)

Euro 1984

Main article: UEFA Euro 1984

At UEFA Euro 1984^[2] the road to the knockout stage seemed open after taking a 2–0 lead in their last group match against Denmark, but the Red Devils could not prevent Danish Dynamite to turn the tide in their favour.

Group stage

Main article: UEFA Euro 1984 Group 1

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	France (H)	3	3	0	0	9	2	+7	6	Advance to knockout stage
2	Denmark	3	2	0	1	8	3	+5	4
3	Belgium	3	1	0	2	4	8	−4	2
4	Yugoslavia	3	0	0	3	2	10	−8	0

Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
(H) Hosts

Belgium	2–0	Yugoslavia
Vandenbergh 28' Grün 45'	Report

13 June 1984 (1984-06-13)

20:30

Stade Félix-Bollaert, Lens

Attendance: 41,525

Referee: Erik Fredriksson (Sweden)

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France	5–0	Belgium
Platini 4', 74' (pen.), 89' Giresse 33' Fernández 43'	Report

16 June 1984 (1984-06-16)

17:15

Stade de la Beaujoire, Nantes

Attendance: 51,359

Referee: Bob Valentine (Scotland)

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Denmark	3–2	Belgium
Arnesen 41' (pen.) Brylle 60' Elkjær 84'	Report	Ceulemans 26' Vercauteren 39'

19 June 1984 (1984-06-19)

20:30

Stade de la Meinau, Strasbourg

Attendance: 36,911

Referee: Adolf Prokop (East Germany)

Euro 2000

The Belgian team was one of the major disappointments of the 2000 edition with a first-round exit. This early exit was fairly unexpected since during the eight preparational friendlies for Euro 2000 under Robert Waseige Belgium played well,^[3] winning three times convincingly and losing only once (2–1 against England). At Euro 2000, Belgium first won against Sweden 2–1 via goals from Bart Goor in the 43rd minute and Émile Mpenza in the 46th minute against Sweden's one by Johan Mjallby in the 53rd minute after a terrible error of goalkeeper Filip De Wilde. In the second match, Belgium lost 2–0 against the eventual tournament runners-up Italy by a header from Francesco Totti in the fifth minute and Stefano Fiore's goal of the tournament (according to the United Kingdom's Match of the Day television programme) in the 66th minute.^[4] In the crucial match where Belgium needed one more point to move ahead to the quarter-finals, they lost 2–0 against Turkey (two goals from Hakan Şükür in the 45th after another error of goalkeeper Filip De Wilde, and 70th minute). In the 83rd minute of that last group match, De Wilde even ended his tournament, being sent off for attacking Arif Erdem outside the penalty area.^[5]

Group stage

Main article: UEFA Euro 2000 Group B

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Italy	3	3	0	0	6	2	+4	9	Advance to knockout stage
2	Turkey	3	1	1	1	3	2	+1	4
3	Belgium (H)	3	1	0	2	2	5	−3	3
4	Sweden	3	0	1	2	2	4	−2	1

Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
(H) Hosts

Belgium	2–1	Sweden
Goor 43' É. Mpenza 46'	Report	Mjällby 53'

10 June 2000 (2000-06-10)

20:45

King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels

Attendance: 46,700

Referee: Markus Merk (Germany)

---

Italy	2–0	Belgium
Totti 6' Fiore 66'	Report

14 June 2000 (2000-06-14)

20:45

King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels

Attendance: 44,500

Referee: José María García-Aranda (Spain)

---

Turkey	2–0	Belgium
Şükür 45+2', 70'	Report

19 June 2000 (2000-06-19)

20:45

King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels

Attendance: 48,000

Referee: Kim Milton Nielsen (Denmark)^{[note 1]}

Euro 2016

Main article: UEFA Euro 2016

Just like in Belgium's previous Euro tournament in 2000, they lost 2–0 to Italy in the group phase.^[6] In spite of winning with broad margins against the Republic of Ireland (3–0)^[7] and Hungary (4–0) at UEFA Euro 2016,^[8][9] Belgium's second very talented generation disappointed with a quarter-final exit. As during the tournament's qualifiers, Wales got the better of Belgium, with a 3–1 win.^[10]

Group stage

Main article: UEFA Euro 2016 Group E

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Italy	3	2	0	1	3	1	+2	6[a]	Advance to knockout stage
2	Belgium	3	2	0	1	4	2	+2	6[a]
3	Republic of Ireland	3	1	1	1	2	4	−2	4
4	Sweden	3	0	1	2	1	3	−2	1

Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
Notes:

1. Head-to-head result: Belgium 0–2 Italy.

Belgium	0–2	Italy
	Report	Giaccherini 32' Pellè 90+3'

13 June 2016 (2016-06-13)

21:00

Parc Olympique Lyonnais, Décines-Charpieu

Attendance: 55,408^[11]

Referee: Mark Clattenburg (England)

---

Belgium	3–0	Republic of Ireland
R. Lukaku 48', 70' Witsel 61'	Report

18 June 2016 (2016-06-18)

15:00

Stade de Bordeaux, Bordeaux

Attendance: 39,493^[12]

Referee: Cüneyt Çakır (Turkey)

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Sweden	0–1	Belgium
	Report	Nainggolan 84'

22 June 2016 (2016-06-22)

21:00

Stade de Nice, Nice

Attendance: 34,011^[13]

Referee: Felix Brych (Germany)

Knockout stage

Main article: UEFA Euro 2016 knockout stage

Round of 16

Hungary	0–4	Belgium
	Report	Alderweireld 10' Batshuayi 78' Hazard 80' Carrasco 90+1'

26 June 2016 (2016-06-26)

21:00

Stadium Municipal, Toulouse

Attendance: 28,921^[14]

Referee: Milorad Mažić (Serbia)

Quarter-finals

Wales	3–1	Belgium
A. Williams 31' Robson-Kanu 55' Vokes 86'	Report	Nainggolan 13'

1 July 2016 (2016-07-01)

21:00

Stade Pierre-Mauroy, Villeneuve-d'Ascq

Attendance: 45,936^[15]

Referee: Damir Skomina (Slovenia)

Euro 2020

Main article: UEFA Euro 2020

Group stage

Main article: UEFA Euro 2020 Group B

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Belgium	3	3	0	0	7	1	+6	9	Advance to knockout stage
2	Denmark (H)	3	1	0	2	5	4	+1	3[a]
3	Finland	3	1	0	2	1	3	−2	3[a]
4	Russia (H)	3	1	0	2	2	7	−5	3[a]

Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
(H) Hosts
Notes:

1. Tied on head-to-head points (3). Head-to-head goal difference: Denmark +2, Finland 0, Russia −2.

Belgium	3–0	Russia
Lukaku 10', 88' Meunier 34'	Report

12 June 2021 (2021-06-12)

21:00 (22:00 UTC+3)

Krestovsky Stadium, Saint Petersburg

Attendance: 26,264^[16]

Referee: Antonio Mateu Lahoz (Spain)

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Denmark	1–2	Belgium
Poulsen 2'	Report	T. Hazard 55' De Bruyne 70'

17 June 2021 (2021-06-17)

18:00

Parken Stadium, Copenhagen

Attendance: 23,395^[17]

Referee: Björn Kuipers (Netherlands)

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Finland	0–2	Belgium
	Report	Hradecky 74' (o.g.) Lukaku 81'

21 June 2021 (2021-06-21)

21:00 (22:00 UTC+3)

Krestovsky Stadium, Saint Petersburg

Attendance: 18,545^[18]

Referee: Felix Brych (Germany)

Knockout stage

Main article: UEFA Euro 2020 knockout stage

Round of 16

Belgium	1–0	Portugal
T. Hazard 42'	Report

27 June 2021 (2021-06-27)

21:00

Estadio de La Cartuja, Seville

Attendance: 11,504^[19]

Referee: Felix Brych (Germany)

Quarter-finals

Belgium	1–2	Italy
Lukaku 45+2' (pen.)	Report	Barella 31' Insigne 44'

2 July 2021 (2021-07-02)

21:00

Allianz Arena, Munich

Attendance: 12,984^[20]

Referee: Slavko Vinčić (Slovenia)

Euro 2024

Main article: UEFA Euro 2024

Group stage

Main article: UEFA Euro 2024 Group E

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

Source: UEFA

Belgium	0–1	Slovakia
	Report	Schranz 7'

17 June 2024 (2024-06-17)

18:00

Waldstadion, Frankfurt

Attendance: 45,181^[21]

Referee: Halil Umut Meler (Turkey)

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Belgium	2–0	Romania
Tielemans 2' De Bruyne 80'	Report

22 June 2024 (2024-06-22)

21:00

RheinEnergieStadion, Cologne

Attendance: 42,535^[22]

Referee: Szymon Marciniak (Poland)

---

Ukraine	0–0	Belgium
	Report

26 June 2024 (2024-06-26)

18:00

MHPArena, Stuttgart

Attendance: 54,000^[23]

Referee: Anthony Taylor (England)

Knockout stage

Main article: UEFA Euro 2024 knockout stage

Round of 16

France	1–0	Belgium
Vertonghen 85' (o.g.)	Report

1 July 2024 (2024-07-01)

18:00

Merkur Spiel-Arena, Düsseldorf

Attendance: 46,810^[24]

Referee: Glenn Nyberg (Sweden)

Goalscorers

Player	Goals	1972	1980	1984	2000	2016	2020	2024
Romelu Lukaku	6					2	4
Jan Ceulemans	2		1	1
Kevin De Bruyne	2						1	1
Thorgan Hazard	2						2
Radja Nainggolan	2					2
Toby Alderweireld	1					1
Michy Batshuayi	1					1
Yannick Carrasco	1					1
Julien Cools	1		1
Eric Gerets	1		1
Bart Goor	1				1
Georges Grün	1			1
Eden Hazard	1					1
Raoul Lambert	1	1
Thomas Meunier	1						1
Émile Mpenza	1				1
Odilon Polleunis	1	1
Youri Tielemans	1							1
Paul Van Himst	1	1
Erwin Vandenbergh	1			1
René Vandereycken	1		1
Frank Vercauteren	1			1
Axel Witsel	1					1
Own goals	1						1
Total	33	3	4	4	2	9	9	2

See also

• Belgium national football team records and statistics
• Belgium at the FIFA World Cup

Notes

1. Nielsen suffered an injury in the 39th minute and was replaced by fourth official Günter Benkö (Austria).

References

1. "European Football Championship 1980 FINAL". euro2000.org. Union of European Football Associations. Archived from the original on 17 August 2000. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
2. Brera, Gianni (17 June 1984). "Festival di Platini sul tetto d' Europa". la Repubblica (in Italian). p. 26.
3. "Experimental Italy sinks Belgium clearly wins: 3–1". repubblica.it (in Italian). 13 November 1999.
4. "Fiore strike scoops top spot". BBC Sport. 1 July 2000. Retrieved 6 June 2008.
5. Piva, Gianni (20 June 2000). "Hakan Sukur, 2 gol la Turchia in delirio". la Repubblica (in Italian). p. 58.
6. Cantalupi, Stefano (13 June 2016). "Euro 2016, Belgium-Italy 0-2: goals from Giaccherini and Pellé, Conte at top of his group". gazzetta.it (in Italian).
7. Carotenuto, Angelo (19 June 2016). "Nel segno di Lukaku il Belgio ritrova il suo passo da grande". la Repubblica (in Italian). p. 60.
8. "Belgium ease to 3–0 victory vs. Rep. Ireland". ESPN FC. 18 June 2016. Archived from the original on 14 June 2016. Retrieved 2 July 2016.
9. "Hazard shines as Belgium thrash Hungary". ESPN FC. 26 June 2016. Archived from the original on 21 July 2016. Retrieved 2 July 2016.
10. "Wales stun Belgium to reach Euro semifinal". ESPN FC. 1 July 2016. Archived from the original on 21 July 2016. Retrieved 2 July 2016.
11. "Full Time Summary – Belgium v Italy" (PDF). UEFA.org. Union of European Football Associations. 13 June 2016. Retrieved 13 June 2016.
12. "Full Time Summary – Belgium v Republic of Ireland" (PDF). UEFA.org. Union of European Football Associations. 18 June 2016. Retrieved 18 June 2016.
13. "Full Time Summary – Sweden v Belgium" (PDF). UEFA.org. Union of European Football Associations. 22 June 2016. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
14. "Full Time Summary – Hungary v Belgium" (PDF). UEFA.org. Union of European Football Associations. 26 June 2016. Retrieved 26 June 2016.
15. "Full Time Summary – Wales v Belgium" (PDF). UEFA.org. Union of European Football Associations. 1 July 2016. Retrieved 1 July 2016.
16. "Full Time Summary – Belgium v Russia" (PDF). UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 12 June 2021. Retrieved 12 June 2021.
17. "Full Time Summary – Denmark v Belgium" (PDF). UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 17 June 2021. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
18. "Full Time Summary – Finland v Belgium" (PDF). UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 21 June 2021. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
19. "Full Time Summary – Belgium v Portugal" (PDF). UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 27 June 2021. Retrieved 27 June 2021.
20. "Full Time Summary – Belgium v Italy" (PDF). UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 2 July 2021. Retrieved 2 July 2021.
21. "Full Time Report – Belgium v Slovakia" (PDF). UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 17 June 2024. Retrieved 17 June 2024.
22. "Full Time Report – Belgium v Romania" (PDF). UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 22 June 2024. Retrieved 22 June 2024.
23. "Full Time Report – Ukraine v Belgium" (PDF). UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 24 June 2024. Retrieved 24 June 2024.
24. "Full Time Report – France v Belgium" (PDF). UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 1 July 2024. Retrieved 1 July 2024.