Belgium National Football Team

Belgium are one of the founding nations of organised European football. The Belgian football federation was established in 1895 and Belgium was a founding member of FIFA in 1904. The Red Devils have qualified for fourteen World Cups across the modern era, including 2026, and reached the semi-finals twice — fourth in 1986 in Mexico and third in 2018 in Russia, the latter the best finish in the federation's history. The 2014-2022 'Golden Generation' of Kevin De Bruyne, Eden Hazard, Vincent Kompany, Toby Alderweireld, Jan Vertonghen, Romelu Lukaku, Thibaut Courtois and Dries Mertens produced the most sustained period of Belgian footballing success. Belgium topped the FIFA world rankings from November 2015 to March 2021, a span of five years, becoming the only nation in ranking history to hold the top spot without ever having won a senior World Cup or European Championship. The third-place finish in Russia 2018, with wins over Brazil in the quarter-final and England in the third-place playoff, remains the apex of that cycle. Rudi Garcia, the French coach who has previously managed Lyon, Roma, Marseille and Napoli, was appointed head coach in January 2025 after Domenico Tedesco's exit following Belgium's group-stage Euros 2024 elimination. Youri Tielemans is captain. The squad combines the surviving ageing stars of the Golden Generation (De Bruyne still at his peak with Napoli aged 34, Courtois in goal, Lukaku at AS Roma) with younger creative talent — Jérémy Doku, Loïs Openda, Charles De Ketelaere — who must now carry the team's tactical identity forward.

The 2-1 quarter-final win over Brazil at the Kazan Arena on 6 July 2018 — Fernandinho own goal, De Bruyne strike — was the result that elevated Belgium's Golden Generation from 'overachieving' to 'historically significant'. Brazil had been heavy favourites to win the tournament. Romelu Lukaku produced one of the great forward performances of the modern era at Russia 2018 across the campaign, and the third-place playoff win over England four days later via Eden Hazard's late goal sealed the bronze medals. The 3-2 round-of-16 win over Japan at the Rostov Arena in Russia 2018 was Belgium's most dramatic tournament comeback. Japan led 2-0 with 21 minutes remaining; Vertonghen, Fellaini and Chadli scored Belgium's response, with the 94th-minute Chadli winner the result of one of the most spectacular counter-attacking sequences in tournament history — Courtois claiming a Japanese corner and Belgium scoring at the other end inside 12 seconds. The 2022 group-stage exit in Qatar, Belgium's worst tournament finish since 1998, was the result that ended the Golden Generation cycle. Eden Hazard's emotional retirement from international football after the tournament, Vertonghen and Alderweireld's gradual phase-out from the senior squad, and the front-page Belgian newspaper question 'Wie volgt?' ('Who's next?') that appeared after the elimination, captured the generational reset that has been ongoing ever since.