{"id":614718,"date":"2022-07-15T02:00:39","date_gmt":"2022-07-15T06:00:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/?p=614718"},"modified":"2022-07-14T17:08:34","modified_gmt":"2022-07-14T21:08:34","slug":"belgium-world-cup-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/2022\/07\/15\/belgium-world-cup-history\/","title":{"rendered":"A Brief History of Belgium’s World Cup Campaigns"},"content":{"rendered":"

In 1930, Belgium played in the first-ever match at a FIFA World Cup<\/a>, which saw them suffer an unflattering 3-0 loss against the United States. A single-goal loss against Paraguay followed. Belgium were eliminated without finding the back of the net once. That’s how Belgium’s World Cup history started. Let’s see where it will go in the future.<\/p>\n

World Cup History of Belgium<\/h2>\n

World Champions of the Friendlies<\/h3>\n

The following two World Cups didn\u2019t bring anything for Belgium either, except losses against France and Nazi Germany.<\/span>\u00a0Having withdrawn in qualification for the 1950 tournament, Belgium made a return in Switzerland four years later. A notable highlight was their spectacular 4-4 draw against England, but the 4-1 loss to Italy sent the Red Devils home.<\/p>\n

Belgium’s would then have a World Cup hiatus that lasted 16 years. Despite this, the Belgians did experience some noteworthy highlights during these dark times, like beating the defending world champions West Germany mere months after they won the title in 1954. They also triumphed over Hungary\u2019s golden team two years later and defeated reigning world champions Brazil 5-1 in 1963, feats that gave Belgium the mocking nickname of \u201cWorld Champion of the Friendlies.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

Historic Wins for Belgium<\/h3>\n

In 1970, Belgium didn\u2019t aim to remain \u201cWorld Champion of the Friendlies\u201d, but actual world champions, as they finally returned to football\u2019s greatest stage in Mexico. Here, the Belgians finally won a World Cup match – 3-0 against El Salvador. It was a historic win. Still, the cup was a disappointment as they had to exit after losing their subsequent matches against the Soviet Union and the hosts, Mexico.<\/p>\n

After a hiatus, Belgium\u2019s success continued as they made a return to the World Cup in 1982. Until now, the only team the Red Devils had defeated at the World Cup was El Salvador. Now they were gonna face defending champions Argentina in the opening match. Against the odds, Belgium were victorious thanks to a goal by Erwin Vandenbergh, but above all it was a good team effort.<\/p>\n

In the next match, Belgium again defeated El Salvador, who had lost 10-1 against Hungary. Now the Hungarians stood against Belgium on the final matchday. The match finished 1-1, which was enough for the Belgians to top the group and advance to the second group stage, where their tournament ended following losses against Poland and the Soviet Union.<\/p>\n

First Golden Generation<\/h3>\n

Next came the 1986 World Cup, again held in Mexico, and again Belgium lost against the Mexicans. To reach the tournament, Belgium narrowly eclipsed their arch-rivals the Netherlands in a high-stake play-off. Goals from Fran\u00e7ois Vercauteren and Georges Gr\u00fcn made sure the Red Devils advanced on away goals. A form of poetic justice, as the Dutch had narrowly denied the Belgians a place at the 1974 World Cup.<\/p>\n

Belgium also found justice at this World Cup by beating Iraq and drawing with Paraguay t<\/span>o clinch a spot in the knockout stage against the Soviet Union, who had a squad of mostly Ukrainian players and topped their group easily. In 1970, the Soviets defeated Belgium 4-1. In 1982, they won by a single goal. Their 1986 match ended up being one of the games of the century.<\/p>\n

Game of the Century<\/h3>\n

Igor Belanov gave the Soviets the lead in the 27th minute with a great strike. Enzo Scifo equalized early in the second half, only for Belanov to score once again in the 70th minute. However, only seven minutes passed until Jan Ceulemans made it 2-2. The remainder of normal time failed to produce a winner. During extra time, Belgium made it both 3-2 and 4-2 thanks to goals from Stephane Demol and Nico Claesen, while Belanov secured his hattrick through a penalty.<\/p>\n

Belgium was in the final eight, where Ceulemans scored again against Spain. La Roja<\/em> did find a late penalty, though, and extra time couldn\u2019t split them with Belgium either. The Red Devils proved a bit too potent in the penalty shootout, reaching a World Cup semi-final for the first time ever.<\/p>\n

They did lose it, but to have participated in one of the best matches of Diego Maradona\u2019s career must still feel like an honour in some ways, even though it of course felt devastating in the moment. Belgium\u2019s bronze match against France was also spectacular, but the Red Devils narrowly lost 4-2 to Le Bleus after extra time.<\/p>\n

Read more: Don Diego Maradona: A Hero<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

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Four More Consecutive World Cups<\/h3>\n

Belgium earned a spot at Italia \u201890, where they were pretty successful yet again, earning wins against South Korea and Uruguay, albeit losing to Spain. It was enough to secure a spot in the Round of 16, where England won thanks to a brilliant David Platt volley just a couple of minutes before the match would head to penalties.<\/p>\n

The 1994 World Cup was a similar story for Belgium. After enjoying a solid group stage where they won against Morocco and rivals the Netherlands, the Red Devils suffered a devastating 3-2 loss in the knockout stage. Once again, it was West Germany. A silver lining was the performance of Michel Preud’homme, who was named the World Cup\u2019s best goalkeeper.<\/p>\n

Despite qualifying for France \u201898, Belgium failed to replicate their previous success at this championship. Three draws weren\u2019t enough to secure a spot in the last 16, despite going undefeated.<\/p>\n

Belgium\u2019s impressive World Cup streak continued, qualifying for their sixth consecutive tournament in 2002. They enjoyed an average competition that saw them once again be eliminated in the round of 16, having advanced from a group that definitely was on the easy side.<\/p>\n

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Second Golden Generation<\/h3>\n

This marked the end of Belgium\u2019s streak, and the Red Devils didn\u2019t qualify for a single major tournament until the 2014 World Cup. But when they did, they came there as one of the contenders, or at least one of the primary dark horses. By now, Belgium\u2019s second golden generation had started emerging, with several players playing for top clubs across Europe\u2019s elite leagues.<\/p>\n

In fairness, Belgium\u2019s group was easy, but they had earned that by being highly seeded thanks to their excellent performances in qualification. The Red Devils topped the group by winning every match and defeated a resilient United States side with a heroic Tim Howard between the sticks in the round of 16 after extra time.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, Argentina\u2019s Gonzalo Higuain ended Belgium\u2019s run in the quarter-finals, but the Belgians still made it that far at a World Cup for the first time since 1986.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s actually incredible how seemingly fast the rise of Belgium was. From failing to qualify for a European Championship to deservedly reaching the quarter-finals of a World Cup and even arriving at the tournament as somewhat of a contender despite no real recent pedigree.<\/p>\n

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First World Cup Medal<\/h3>\n

Belgium\u2019s golden generation showed no signs of decline in 2018 World Cup qualifying where they won all matches but one. The Belgians once again arrived at a major tournament as one of the top contenders, a label they proved to be warranted by convincingly winning all of their group matches.<\/p>\n

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23 June 2018. Romelu Lukaku becomes our #WorldCup<\/a> all time top scorer against Tunisia. \ud83c\udde7\ud83c\uddea pic.twitter.com\/ib9WmD4DAe<\/a><\/p>\n

— Belgian Red Devils (@BelRedDevils) June 23, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n