Belgium at the UEFA European 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 five UEFA European Championships finals, those held in 1972, 1980, 1984, 2000 and 2016, and have also qualified for UEFA Euro 2020, which was postponed to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As of 1 July 2016, they have played 17 matches: 7 wins, 2 draws and 8 losses.

Overview

Tournaments

  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.
Belgium's UEFA European Championship record Qualification record
Host nation(s)
and year		 Round Pos Pld W D L GF GA Squad Outcome Pld W D L GF GA
1960 Did not enter Did not enter
1964 Did not qualify Preliminary loss 2 0 0 2 2 4
1968 2nd of 4 6 3 1 2 14 9
1972 Third place 3rd of 4 2 1 0 1 3 3 Squad Quarter-finals win 8 5 2 1 13 4
1976 Did not qualify 1st of 4, playoff loss 8 3 2 3 7 10
1980 Runners-up 2nd of 8 4 1 2 1 4 4 Squad 1st of 5 8 4 4 0 12 5
1984 Group stage 6th of 8 3 1 0 2 4 8 Squad 1st of 4 6 4 1 1 12 8
1988 Did not qualify 3rd of 5 8 3 3 2 16 8
1992 3rd of 4 6 2 1 3 7 6
1996 3rd of 6 10 4 3 3 17 13
2000 Group stage 12th of 16 3 1 0 2 2 5 Squad Qualified as hosts
2004 Did not qualify 3rd of 5 8 5 1 2 11 9
2008 5th of 8 14 5 3 6 14 16
2012 3rd of 6 10 4 3 3 21 15
2016 Quarter-finals 7th of 24 5 3 0 2 9 5 Squad 1st of 6 10 7 2 1 24 5
2020 Qualified TBA 0 0 0 0 0 0 Squad 1st of 6 10 10 0 0 40 3
Total Runners-up 6/16 17 7 2 8 22 25 — Total 114 59 26 29 210 115
  Champions    Runners-up    Third place/semi-finalists  

Matches

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.

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Club
1 1GK Christian Piot (1947-10-06)6 October 1947 (aged 24) Standard Liège
2 2DF Georges Heylens (1941-08-08)8 August 1941 (aged 30) Anderlecht
3 2DF Léon Dolmans (1945-04-06)6 April 1945 (aged 27) Standard Liège
4 2DF Jean Thissen (1946-04-21)21 April 1946 (aged 26) Standard Liège
5 3MF Erwin Vandendaele (1945-03-05)5 March 1945 (aged 27) Club Brugge
6 4FW Jean Dockx (1941-05-24)24 May 1941 (aged 31) Anderlecht
7 3MF Leon Semmeling (1940-01-04)4 January 1940 (aged 32) Standard Liège
8 2DF Maurice Martens (1947-06-05)5 June 1947 (aged 25) Molenbeek
9 4FW Raoul Lambert (1944-10-20)20 October 1944 (aged 27) Club Brugge
10 4FW Paul van Himst (captain) (1943-10-02)2 October 1943 (aged 28) Anderlecht
11 3MF Jan Verheyen (1944-07-09)9 July 1944 (aged 27) Anderlecht
12 1GK Luc Sanders (1945-10-06)6 October 1945 (aged 26) Club Brugge
13 2DF Gilbert van Binst (1951-07-05)5 July 1951 (aged 20) Anderlecht
14 4FW Odilon Polleunis (1943-05-01)1 May 1943 (aged 29) Sint-Truidense
15 4FW Jacques Teugels (1946-08-03)3 August 1946 (aged 25) Molenbeek
16 3MF John Thio (1944-09-02)2 September 1944 (aged 27) Club Brugge
21 4FW Frans Janssens (1945-09-25)25 September 1945 (aged 26) Lierse

Semi-final

Belgium 1 – 2 West Germany
Polleunis  83' Report Müller  24', 71'
Attendance: 55,669

Third-place play-off

Hungary 1 – 2 Belgium
Kű  53' (pen.) Report Lambert  24'
Van Himst  28'
Attendance: 6,184

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.

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Club
1 1GK Theo Custers (1950-08-10)10 August 1950 (aged 29) 8 Royal Antwerp
2 2DF Eric Gerets (1954-05-18)18 May 1954 (aged 26) 23 Standard Liège
3 2DF Luc Millecamps (1951-09-10)10 September 1951 (aged 28) 9 Waregem
4 2DF Walter Meeuws (1951-07-11)11 July 1951 (aged 28) 20 Club Brugge
5 2DF Michel Renquin (1955-11-03)3 November 1955 (aged 24) 21 Standard Liège
6 3MF Julien Cools (captain) (1947-02-13)13 February 1947 (aged 33) 31 K. Beerschot
7 3MF René Vandereycken (1953-07-22)22 July 1953 (aged 26) 21 Club Brugge
8 3MF Wilfried Van Moer (1945-03-01)1 March 1945 (aged 35) 41 Beringen
9 4FW François Van der Elst (1954-12-01)1 December 1954 (aged 25) 30 Anderlecht
10 4FW Erwin Vandenbergh (1959-01-26)26 January 1959 (aged 21) Lierse
11 3MF Jan Ceulemans (1957-02-28)28 February 1957 (aged 23) Club Brugge
12 1GK Jean-Marie Pfaff (1953-12-04)4 December 1953 (aged 26) Beveren
13 3MF Maurice Martens (1947-06-05)5 June 1947 (aged 33) Molenbeek
14 2DF Gerard Plessers (1959-03-30)30 March 1959 (aged 21) Standard Liège
15 3MF René Verheyen (1952-03-20)20 March 1952 (aged 28) Lokeren
16 3MF Marc Millecamps (1950-10-09)9 October 1950 (aged 29) Waregem
17 3MF Raymond Mommens (1958-12-27)27 December 1958 (aged 21) Lokeren
18 3MF Guy Dardenne (1954-10-19)19 October 1954 (aged 25) Lokeren
19 4FW Willy Wellens (1954-03-29)29 March 1954 (aged 26) Standard Liège
20 1GK Michel Preud'homme (1959-01-24)24 January 1959 (aged 21) Standard Liège
21 2DF Jos Heyligen (1947-06-30)30 June 1947 (aged 32) Beringen
22 4FW Ronny Martens (1958-12-22)22 December 1958 (aged 21) Anderlecht
Pos Team 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) Host.
Belgium 1–1 England
Ceulemans  29' Report Wilkins  26'
Attendance: 15,186
Belgium 2–1 Spain
Gerets  17'
Cools  65'		 Report Quini  36'
San Siro, Milan
Attendance: 11,430
Italy 0–0 Belgium
Report
Attendance: 42,318
West Germany 2–1 Belgium
Hrubesch  10', 88' (Report) Vandereycken  75' (pen.)
Attendance: 47,864

Euro 1984

At UEFA Euro 1984[1] the road to the knockout stage seemed open after taking a 0–2 lead in their last group match against Denmark, but the Red Devils could not prevent Danish Dynamite to turn the tide in their favour.

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Club
1 1GK Jean-Marie Pfaff (1953-12-04)4 December 1953 (aged 30) Bayern Munich
2 2DF Georges Grün (1962-01-25)25 January 1962 (aged 22) Anderlecht
3 2DF Paul Lambrichts (1954-10-16)16 October 1954 (aged 29) Beveren-Waas
4 2DF Leo Clijsters (1956-11-06)6 November 1956 (aged 27) Waterschei Thor
5 2DF Michel De Wolf (1958-01-19)19 January 1958 (aged 26) Gent
6 3MF Franky Vercauteren (1956-10-28)28 October 1956 (aged 27) Anderlecht
7 3MF René Vandereycken (1953-07-22)22 July 1953 (aged 30) Anderlecht
8 3MF Nico Claesen (1962-10-01)1 October 1962 (aged 21) Seraing
9 4FW Erwin Vandenbergh (1959-01-26)26 January 1959 (aged 25) Anderlecht
10 3MF Ludo Coeck (1955-09-26)26 September 1955 (aged 28) Internazionale
11 3MF Jan Ceulemans (captain) (1957-02-28)28 February 1957 (aged 27) Club Brugge
12 1GK Jacky Munaron (1956-09-08)8 September 1956 (aged 27) Anderlecht
13 2DF Marc Baecke (1956-07-24)24 July 1956 (aged 27) Beveren-Waas
14 3MF Walter De Greef (1957-11-13)13 November 1957 (aged 26) Anderlecht
15 2DF René Verheyen (1952-03-20)20 March 1952 (aged 32) Club Brugge
16 3MF Enzo Scifo (1966-02-19)19 February 1966 (aged 18) Anderlecht
17 3MF Eddy Voordeckers (1960-02-04)4 February 1960 (aged 24) Waterschei Thor
18 4FW Alexandre Czerniatynski (1960-07-28)28 July 1960 (aged 23) Anderlecht
19 3MF Raymond Mommens (1958-12-27)27 December 1958 (aged 25) Lokeren
20 1GK Wim De Coninck (1959-07-23)23 July 1959 (aged 24) Waregem
Pos Team 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) Host.

Group stage

Belgium 2–0 Yugoslavia
Vandenbergh  28'
Grün  45'		 (Report)
Attendance: 41,525
France 5–0 Belgium
Platini  4', 74' (pen.), 89'
Giresse  33'
Fernández  43'		 (Report)
Attendance: 51,359
Denmark 3–2 Belgium
Arnesen  41' (pen.)
Brylle  60'
Elkjær  84'		 (Report) Ceulemans  26'
Vercauteren  39'
Attendance: 36,911

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,[2] winning three times convincingly and losing only once (2–1 against England). At Euro 2000, Belgium first won against Sweden with 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's 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.[3] 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 Euro 2000, being sent off for attacking Arif Erdem outside the penalty area.[4]

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Club
1 1GK Filip De Wilde (1964-07-05)5 July 1964 (aged 35) 31 Anderlecht
2 2DF Eric Deflandre (1973-08-02)2 August 1973 (aged 26) 22 Club Brugge
3 2DF Joos Valgaeren (1976-03-03)3 March 1976 (aged 24) 4 Roda JC
4 2DF Lorenzo Staelens (captain) (1964-04-30)30 April 1964 (aged 36) 69 Anderlecht
5 2DF Philippe Clement (1974-03-22)22 March 1974 (aged 26) 11 Club Brugge
6 3MF Yves Vanderhaeghe (1970-01-30)30 January 1970 (aged 30) 13 Mouscron
7 3MF Marc Wilmots (1969-02-22)22 February 1969 (aged 31) 47 Schalke 04
8 3MF Bart Goor (1973-04-09)9 April 1973 (aged 27) 17 Anderlecht
9 4FW Émile Mpenza (1978-07-04)4 July 1978 (aged 21) 23 Schalke 04
10 4FW Branko Strupar (1970-02-09)9 February 1970 (aged 30) 9 Derby County
11 4FW Gert Verheyen (1970-09-20)20 September 1970 (aged 29) 30 Club Brugge
12 1GK Geert De Vlieger (1971-10-16)16 October 1971 (aged 28) 7 Willem II
13 1GK Frédéric Herpoel (1974-08-16)16 August 1974 (aged 25) 1 Gent
14 3MF Johan Walem (1972-02-01)1 February 1972 (aged 28) 20 Parma
15 2DF Jacky Peeters (1969-12-13)13 December 1969 (aged 30) 6 Arminia Bielefeld
16 4FW Luc Nilis (1967-05-25)25 May 1967 (aged 33) 54 PSV
17 2DF Philippe Léonard (1974-02-12)12 February 1974 (aged 26) 18 Monaco
18 2DF Nico Van Kerckhoven (1970-12-14)14 December 1970 (aged 29) 24 Schalke 04
19 2DF Eric Van Meir (1968-02-28)28 February 1968 (aged 32) 17 Lierse
20 4FW Gilles De Bilde (1971-06-09)9 June 1971 (aged 29) 22 Sheffield Wednesday
21 4FW Mbo Mpenza (1976-12-04)4 December 1976 (aged 23) 18 Sporting CP
22 3MF Marc Hendrikx (1974-07-02)2 July 1974 (aged 25) 8 Racing Genk
Pos Team 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) Host.

Group stage

Belgium 2–1 Sweden
Goor  43'
É. Mpenza  46'		 Report Mjällby  53'
Attendance: 46,700
Referee: Markus Merk (Germany)
Italy 2–0 Belgium
Totti  6'
Fiore  66'		 Report
Attendance: 44,500
Turkey 2–0 Belgium
Hakan Ş.  45', 70' Report
Attendance: 43,000

Euro 2016
Main article: UEFA Euro 2016

Just like in Belgium's previous Euro tournament in 2000, Belgium lost 2–0 to Italy in the group phase.[5] In spite of winning with broad margins against the Republic of Ireland (3–0)[6] and Hungary (4–0) at UEFA Euro 2016,[7][8] 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.[9]

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1 1GK Thibaut Courtois (1992-05-11)11 May 1992 (aged 24) 37 0 Chelsea
2 2DF Toby Alderweireld (1989-03-02)2 March 1989 (aged 27) 55 1 Tottenham Hotspur
3 2DF Thomas Vermaelen (1985-11-14)14 November 1985 (aged 30) 53 1 Barcelona
4 3MF Radja Nainggolan (1988-05-04)4 May 1988 (aged 28) 19 4 Roma
5 2DF Jan Vertonghen (1987-04-24)24 April 1987 (aged 29) 77 6 Tottenham Hotspur
6 3MF Axel Witsel (1989-01-12)12 January 1989 (aged 27) 67 6 Zenit Saint Petersburg
7 4FW Kevin De Bruyne (1991-06-28)28 June 1991 (aged 24) 39 12 Manchester City
8 3MF Marouane Fellaini (1987-11-22)22 November 1987 (aged 28) 68 15 Manchester United
9 4FW Romelu Lukaku (1993-05-13)13 May 1993 (aged 23) 44 12 Everton
10 4FW Eden Hazard (captain) (1991-01-07)7 January 1991 (aged 25) 65 13 Chelsea
11 4FW Yannick Carrasco (1993-09-04)4 September 1993 (aged 22) 4 0 Atlético Madrid
12 1GK Simon Mignolet (1988-03-06)6 March 1988 (aged 28) 16 0 Liverpool
13 1GK Jean-François Gillet (1979-05-31)31 May 1979 (aged 37) 9 0 Mechelen
14 4FW Dries Mertens (1987-05-06)6 May 1987 (aged 29) 45 8 Napoli
15 2DF Jason Denayer (1995-06-28)28 June 1995 (aged 20) 7 0 Galatasaray
16 2DF Thomas Meunier (1991-09-12)12 September 1991 (aged 24) 5 0 Club Brugge
17 4FW Divock Origi (1995-04-18)18 April 1995 (aged 21) 19 3 Liverpool
18 2DF Christian Kabasele (1991-02-24)24 February 1991 (aged 25) 0 0 Genk
19 3MF Mousa Dembélé (1987-07-16)16 July 1987 (aged 28) 65 5 Tottenham Hotspur
20 4FW Christian Benteke (1990-12-03)3 December 1990 (aged 25) 26 6 Liverpool
21 2DF Jordan Lukaku (1994-07-25)25 July 1994 (aged 21) 4 0 Oostende
22 4FW Michy Batshuayi (1993-10-02)2 October 1993 (aged 22) 5 2 Marseille
23 2DF Laurent Ciman (1985-08-05)5 August 1985 (aged 30) 11 1 Montreal Impact

Group stage
Main article: UEFA Euro 2016 Group E
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Italy 3 2 0 1 3 1 +2 6[lower-alpha 1] Advance to knockout phase
2  Belgium 3 2 0 1 4 2 +2 6[lower-alpha 1]
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
Attendance: 55,408[10]
Belgium 3–0 Republic of Ireland
 Report
Attendance: 39,493[11]
Sweden 0–1 Belgium
Report
Attendance: 34,011[12]
Referee: Felix Brych (Germany)

Knockout phase
Main article: UEFA Euro 2016 knockout phase

Round of 16

Hungary 0–4 Belgium
Report
Attendance: 28,921[13]

Quarter-finals

Wales 3–1 Belgium
 Report
Attendance: 45,936[14]

Euro 2020
Main article: UEFA Euro 2020

Group stage
Main article: UEFA Euro 2020 Group B
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Denmark (H) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Advance to knockout phase
2  Finland 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3  Belgium 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Possible knockout phase based on ranking
4  Russia (H) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
First match(es) will be played on 12 June 2021. Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
(H) Host.
Belgium Match 4 Russia
Report
Denmark Match 16 Belgium
Report
Finland Match 28 Belgium
Report

Goalscorers
Player Goals 1972 1980 1984 2000 2016
Romelu Lukaku 2 2
Jan Ceulemans 2 11
Radja Nainggolan 2 2
Eden Hazard 1 1
Paul Van Himst 1 1
René Vandereycken 1 1
Frank Vercauteren 1 1
Axel Witsel 1 1
Toby Alderweireld 1 1
Erwin Vandenbergh 1 1
Michy Batshuayi 1 1
Julien Cools 1 1
Raoul Lambert 1 1
Yannick Carrasco 1 1
Eric Gerets 1 1
Bart Goor 1 1
Georges Grün 1 1
Émile Mpenza 1 1
Odilon Polleunis 1 1
Total 22 34429

See also

Notes
  1. Nielsen suffered an injury shortly before half-time and was replaced by fourth official Günter Benkö.

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