The 1980s were the most successful decade in the existence of Belgium's national football team, as they appeared in four of the five major tournaments (European and World Championships) and also reached their best positions so far: second place at Euro 1980 and fourth place at the 1986 World Cup. Apart from their appearances at end stages, they ensured qualification for the 1990 World Cup during the last years of the decade. Overall, the balance was positive with 39 wins versus 24 losses (and 21 draws).
| Win Draw Loss |
Results edit
| Legend for encounters | |
|---|---|
| S.O. | Summer Olympics |
| W.C. | FIFA World Cup |
| EURO | UEFA European Football Championship |
| CC | Confederations Cup |
| TB | Tie-break match |
| Q | Qualification rounds |
| R + number | Round number |
| FR | Final Round |
| GS | Group Stage |
| 1/16 | Round of 32 |
| 1/8 | Round of 16 |
| QF | Quarter-final |
| SF | Semi-final |
| F | Final |
| RP | Repechage |
| Rep. | Replay match |
| 3rd-4th | Third place match |
| 1980-02-27 Friendly | Belgium  | 5–0 |  Luxembourg | Brussels |
Vandenbergh  12', 21'Vandereycken 16'F. Van der Elst 66', 89' |
Stadium: Heysel Stadium Attendance: 1,226 Referee: Henk van Ettekoven (Netherlands) |
| 1980-03-18 Friendly | Belgium | 2–0 |  Uruguay | Brussels |
| Verheyen 65' (pen.) F. Van der Elst 86' |
Stadium: Heysel Stadium Attendance: 3,974 Referee: Robert Wurtz (France) |
| 1980-04-02 Friendly | Belgium | 2–1 |  Poland | Brussels |
| Coeck 38' Vandenbergh 58' |
Lato 65' |
Stadium: Heysel Stadium Attendance: 6,800 Referee: Heinz Aldinger (West Germany) |
| 1980-06-06 Friendly | Belgium | 2–1 |  Romania | Brussels |
| Ceulemans 48' F. Van der Elst 87' |
Cămătaru 24' |
Stadium: Heysel Stadium Attendance: 3,875 Referee: Jacob Baumann (Switzerland) |
| 1980-06-12 EURO 1980 GS | Belgium | 1–1 |  England | Turin |
| Ceulemans 30' |
Report | Wilkins 26' |
Stadium: Stadio Comunale Attendance: 15,186 Referee: Heinz Aldinger (West Germany) |
| 1980-06-15 EURO 1980 GS | Belgium | 2–1 |  Spain | Milan |
| Gerets 16' Cools 65' |
Report | Quini 36' |
Stadium: San Siro Attendance: 11,430 Referee: Charles Corver (Netherlands) |
| 1980-06-18 EURO 1980 GS | Italy  | 0–0 | Belgium | Rome |
| Report | Stadium: Stadio Olimpico Attendance: 42,318 Referee: António Garrido (Portugal) |
| 1980-06-22 EURO 1980 F | Belgium | 1–2 |  West Germany | Rome |
| Vandereycken 71' (pen.) |
Report | Hrubesch 10', 89' |
Stadium: Stadio Olimpico Attendance: 47,864 Referee: Nicolae Rainea (Romania) |
| 1980-10-15 W.C. 1982 Q | Republic of Ireland  | 1–1 | Belgium | Dublin |
| Grealish 42' |
Report | Cluytens 13' |
Stadium: Lansdowne Road Attendance: 40,000 Referee: Norbert Rolles (Luxembourg) |
| 1980-11-19 W.C. 1982 Q | Belgium | 1–0 |  Netherlands | Brussels |
| Vandenbergh 48' (pen.) |
Report | Stadium: Heysel Stadium Attendance: 57,665 Referee: Eldar Azimzade (Soviet Union) |
| 1980-12-21 W.C. 1982 Q | Cyprus  | 0–2 | Belgium | Nicosia |
| Report | Vandenbergh 30' Ceulemans 69' |
Stadium: Makario Stadium Attendance: 6,000 Referee: Robert Valentine (Scotland) |
| 1981-02-18 W.C. 1982 Q | Belgium | 3–2 | Cyprus | Brussels |
| Plessers 12' Vandenbergh 17'Ceulemans 67' |
Report | Lysandrou 41' Vrahimis 52' |
Stadium: Heysel Stadium Attendance: 17,445 Referee: Arto Ravander (Finland) |
| 1981-03-25 W.C. 1982 Q | Belgium | 1–0 | Republic of Ireland | Brussels |
| Ceulemans 88' |
Report | Stadium: Heysel Stadium Attendance: 37,978 Referee: Raul Nazaré (Portugal) |
| 1981-04-29 W.C. 1982 Q | France  | 3–2 | Belgium | Paris |
| Soler 14', 31' Six 26' |
Report | Vandenbergh 5' Ceulemans 52' |
Stadium: Parc des Princes Attendance: 44,954 Referee: Victoriano Sánchez Arminio (Spain) |
| 1981-09-09 W.C. 1982 Q | Belgium | 2–0 | France | Brussels |
| Czerniatynski 24' Vandenbergh 83' |
Report | Stadium: Heysel Stadium Attendance: 52,525 Referee: Palotai Károly (Hungary) |
| 1981-10-14 W.C. 1982 Q | Netherlands | 3–0 | Belgium | Rotterdam |
| Metgod 6' van Kooten 26'Geels 54' |
Report | Stadium: De Kuip Attendance: 56,000 Referee: Brian McGinlay (Scotland) |
| 1981-12-16 Friendly | Spain  | 2–0 | Belgium | Valencia |
| Satrústegui 7', 87' |
Stadium: Estadio Luís Casanova Attendance: 28,000 Referee: Volker Roth (West Germany) |
| 1982-03-24 Friendly | Belgium | 4–1 | Romania | Brussels |
| Verheyen 11', 45' Czerniatynski 67', 75' |
Ţicleanu 51' |
Stadium: Heysel Stadium Attendance: 7,330 Referee: Daniel Lambert (France) |
| 1982-04-28 Friendly | Belgium | 2–1 |  Bulgaria | Brussels |
| Vandenbergh 3' Van Moer 53' |
Mladenov 26' |
Stadium: Heysel Stadium Attendance: 14,500 Referee: Gert Henning (West Germany) |
| 1982-05-27 Friendly | Denmark  | 1–0 | Belgium | Copenhagen |
| Elkjær 62' |
Stadium: Idrætsparken Attendance: 12,000 Referee: Hans Harryason (Sweden) |
| 1982-06-13 W.C. 1982 R1 | Argentina  | 0–1 | Belgium | Barcelona |
| Report | Vandenbergh 63' |
Stadium: Camp Nou Attendance: 95,000 Referee: Vojtěch Christov (Czechoslovakia) |
| 1982-06-19 W.C. 1982 R1 | Belgium | 1–0 |  El Salvador | Elche |
| Coeck 19' |
Report | Stadium: Nuevo Altabix Attendance: 38,749 Referee: Malcolm Moffat (Northern Ireland) |
| 1982-06-22 W.C. 1982 R1 | Belgium | 1–1 |  Hungary | Elche |
| Czerniatynski 75' |
Report | Varga 28' |
Stadium: Nuevo Altabix Attendance: 23,000 Referee: Clive White (England) |
| 1982-06-28 W.C. 1982 R2 | Poland | 3–0 | Belgium | Barcelona |
| Boniek 3', 25', 54' |
Report | Stadium: Camp Nou Attendance: 65,000 Referee: Luís Siles (Costa Rica) |
| 1982-07-01 W.C. 1982 R2 | Belgium | 0–1 |  Soviet Union | Barcelona |
| Report | Oganesyan 48' |
Stadium: Camp Nou Attendance: 45,000 Referee: Michel Vautrot (France) |
| 1982-09-22 Friendly | West Germany | 0–0 | Belgium | Munich |
| Stadium: Olympiastadion Attendance: 25,000 Referee: Vojtěch Christov (Czechoslovakia) |
| 1982-10-06 EURO 1984 Q | Belgium | 3–0 |  Switzerland | Brussels |
| Lüdi 2' (o.g.) Coeck 47'Vandenbergh 82' |
Stadium: Heysel Stadium Attendance: 16,808 Referee: Paolo Bergamo (Italy) |
| 1982-12-15 EURO 1984 Q | Belgium | 3–2 |  Scotland | Brussels |
| Vandenbergh 26' F. Van der Elst 38', 63' |
Dalglish 13', 35' |
Stadium: Heysel Stadium Attendance: 48,877 Referee: António Garrido (Portugal) |
| 1983-03-30 EURO 1984 Q | East Germany  | 1–2 | Belgium | Leipzig |
| Streich 83' |
F. Van der Elst 36' Vandenbergh 69' |
Stadium: Zentralstadion Attendance: 75,000 Referee: John Carpenter (Republic of Ireland) |
| 1983-04-27 EURO 1984 Q | Belgium | 2–1 | East Germany | Brussels |
| Ceulemans 19' Coeck 37' |
Streich 9' |
Stadium: Heysel Stadium Attendance: 43,894 Referee: Emilio Guruceta Muro (Spain) |
| 1983-05-31 Friendly[A] | Belgium | 1–1 | France | Luxembourg City |
| Voordeckers 12' |
Six 11' |
Stadium: Stade Municipal Attendance: 5,880 Referee: Norbert Rolles (Luxembourg) |
| 1983-09-21 Friendly | Belgium | 1–1 | Netherlands | Brussels |
| Voordeckers 74' |
van Basten 64' |
Stadium: Heysel Stadium Attendance: 11,746 Referee: Ulrich Nyffenegger (Switzerland) |
| 1983-10-12 EURO 1984 Q | Scotland | 1–1 | Belgium | Glasgow |
| Nicholas 55' |
Vercauteren 30' |
Stadium: Hampden Park Attendance: 23,475 Referee: Enzo Barbaresco (Italy) |
| 1983-11-09 EURO 1984 Q | Switzerland | 3–1 | Belgium | Bern |
| Schällibaum 24' Brigger 76'Geiger 82' |
Vandenbergh 64' |
Stadium: Wankdorfstadion Attendance: 10,000 Referee: Volker Roth (West Germany) |
| 1984-02-29 Friendly | Belgium | 0–1 | West Germany | Brussels |
| Völler 76' |
Stadium: Heysel Stadium Attendance: 18,000 Referee: Albert Thomas (Netherlands) |
| 1984-04-17 Friendly | Poland | 0–1 | Belgium | Warsaw |
| Czerniatynski 89' |
Stadium: Polish Army Stadium Attendance: 20,000 Referee: Radu Petrescu (Romania) |
| 1984-06-06 Friendly | Belgium | 2–2 | Hungary | Brussels |
| Ceulemans 17', 88' |
Hajszán 43' Nyilasi 59' |
Stadium: Heysel Stadium Attendance: 12,800 Referee: Georges Konrath (France) |
| 1984-06-13 EURO 1984 GS | Belgium | 2–0 |  Yugoslavia | Lens |
| Vandenbergh 28' Grün 44' |
Report | Stadium: Stade Félix Bollaert Attendance: 35,000 Referee: Erik Fredriksson (Sweden) |
| 1984-06-16 EURO 1984 GS | France | 5–0 | Belgium | Nantes |
| Platini 3', 74' (pen.) Giresse 32'Fernandez 43' |
Report | Stadium: Stade de la Beaujoire Attendance: 51,359 Referee: Robert Valentine (Scotland) |
| 1984-06-19 EURO 1984 GS | Denmark | 3–2 | Belgium | Strasbourg |
| Arnesen 41' (pen.) Brylle 61'Elkjær 85' |
Report | Ceulemans 26' Vercauteren 38' |
Stadium: Stade de la Meinau Attendance: 36,911 Referee: Adolf Prokop (East Germany) |
| 1984-09-05 Friendly | Belgium | 0–2 | Argentina | Brussels |
| Trobbiani 9' Ruggeri 36' |
Stadium: Heysel Stadium Attendance: 7,853 Referee: Franz Wöhrer (Austria) |
| 1984-10-17 W.C. 1986 Q | Belgium | 3–1 |  Albania | Brussels |
| Claesen 59' Scifo 83'Voordeckers 87' |
Omuri 69' |
Stadium: Heysel Stadium Attendance: 8,978 Referee: Arto Ravander (Finland) |
| 1984-12-19 W.C. 1986 Q | Greece  | 0–0 | Belgium | Athens |
| Stadium: Olympic Stadium Attendance: 15,000 Referee: Heinz Fahnler (Austria) |
| 1984-12-22 W.C. 1986 Q | Albania | 2–0 | Belgium | Tirana |
| Josa 69' Minga 86' |
Stadium: Qemal Stafa Stadium Attendance: 19,802 Referee: Victoriano Sánchez Arminio (Spain) |
| 1985-03-27 W.C. 1986 Q | Belgium | 2–0 | Greece | Brussels |
| Vercauteren 69' Scifo 89' |
Stadium: Heysel Stadium Attendance: 32,000 Referee: Keith Hackett (England) |
| 1985-05-01 W.C. 1986 Q | Belgium | 2–0 | Poland | Brussels |
| Vandenbergh 30' Vercauteren 52' |
Stadium: Heysel Stadium Attendance: 48,310 Referee: Malcolm Moffat (Northern Ireland) |
| 1985-09-11 W.C. 1986 Q | Poland | 0–0 | Belgium | Chorzów |
| Stadium: Stadion Śląski Attendance: 70,000 Referee: Robert Valentine (Scotland) |
| 1985-10-16 W.C. 1986 Q RP | Belgium | 1–0 | Netherlands | Brussels |
| Vercauteren 19' |
Stadium: Constant Vanden Stock Stadium Attendance: 30,764 Referee: Pietro D'Elia (Italy) |
| 1985-11-20 W.C. 1986 Q RP | Netherlands | 2–1 | Belgium | Rotterdam |
| Houtman 60' De Wit 71' |
Grün 84' |
Stadium: De Kuip Attendance: 54,000 Referee: George Courtney (England) |
| 1986-02-19 Friendly | Spain | 3–0 | Belgium | Elche |
| Butragueño 3' Salinas 41'Maceda 72' |
Stadium: Nuevo Altabix Attendance: 25,000 Referee: Paolo Casarin (Italy) |
| 1986-04-23 Friendly | Belgium | 2–0 | Bulgaria | Brussels |
| Desmet 43' Vandenbergh 55' |
Stadium: Heysel Stadium Attendance: 4,872 Referee: Dieter Pauly (West Germany) |
| 1986-05-19 Friendly | Belgium | 1–3 | Yugoslavia | Brussels |
| Claesen 60' |
Škoro 7' Gračan 23'Vujović 27' (pen.) |
Stadium: Heysel Stadium Attendance: 10,000 Referee: Alain Delmer (France) |
| 1986-06-03 W.C. 1986 GS | Mexico  | 2–1 | Belgium | Mexico City |
| Quirarte 23' Sánchez 29' |
Report | Vandenbergh 45' |
Stadium: Estadio Azteca Attendance: 110,000 Referee: Carlos Espósito (Argentina) |
| 1986-06-08 W.C. 1986 GS | Iraq  | 1–2 | Belgium | Toluca |
| Radhi 59' |
Report | Scifo 16' Claesen 21' (pen.) |
Stadium: Estadio Nemesio Díez Attendance: 20,000 Referee: Jesús Díaz (Colombia) |
| 1986-06-11 W.C. 1986 GS | Paraguay  | 2–2 | Belgium | Toluca |
| Cabañas 50', 76' |
Report | Vercauteren 30' Veyt 59' |
Stadium: Estadio Nemesio Díez Attendance: 16,000 Referee: Bogdan Dotchev (Bulgaria) |
| 1986-06-15 W.C. 1986 1/8 | Soviet Union | 3–4 (a.e.t.) | Belgium | León |
| Belanov 27', 70', 111' (pen.) |
Report | Scifo 56' Ceulemans 77'Demol 102'Claesen 110' |
Stadium: Estadio Nou Camp Attendance: 32,277 Referee: Erik Fredriksson (Sweden) |
| 1986-06-22 W.C. 1986 QF | Spain | 1–1 (a.e.t.) (4–5 p) | Belgium | Puebla |
| Señor 85' |
Report | Ceulemans 35' |
Stadium: Estadio Cuauhtémoc Attendance: 45,000 Referee: Siegfried Kirschen (East Germany) | |
| Penalties | ||||
Señor  Eloy  Chendo Butragueño Víctor |
Claesen Scifo Broos Vervoort L. Van Der Elst |
|||
| 1986-06-25 W.C. 1986 SF | Argentina | 2–0 | Belgium | Mexico City |
| Maradona 51', 63' |
Report | Stadium: Estadio Azteca Attendance: 114,500 Referee: Antonio Márquez Ramírez (Mexico) |
| 1986-06-28 W.C. 1986 3rd-4th | France | 4–2 (a.e.t.) | Belgium | Puebla |
| Ferreri 27' Papin 43'Genghini 104'Amoros 111' (pen.) |
Report | Ceulemans 11' Claesen 73' |
Stadium: Estadio Cuauhtémoc Attendance: 21,000 Referee: George Courtney (England) |
| 1986-09-10 EURO 1988 Q | Belgium | 2–2 | Republic of Ireland | Brussels |
| Claesen 14' Scifo 71' |
Stapleton 18' Brady 89' |
Stadium: Heysel Stadium Attendance: 22,212 Referee: Ioan Igna (Romania) |
| 1986-10-14 EURO 1988 Q | Luxembourg | 0–6 | Belgium | Luxembourg City |
| Gerets 6' Claesen 8', 53', 89' (pen.)Vercauteren 40'Ceulemans 87' |
Stadium: Stade Municipal Attendance: 9,550 Referee: Krzysztof Czemarmazowicz (Poland) |
| 1986-11-19 EURO 1988 Q | Belgium | 1–1 | Bulgaria | Brussels |
| Janssen 48' |
Tanev 63' |
Stadium: Heysel Stadium Attendance: 22,780 Referee: Victoriano Sánchez Arminio (Spain) |
| 1987-02-04 Friendly | Portugal  | 1–0 | Belgium | Braga |
| Frasco 45' |
Stadium: Estádio Primeiro de Maio Attendance: 9,000 Referee: Joël Quiniou (France) |
| 1987-04-01 EURO 1988 Q | Belgium | 4–1 | Scotland | Brussels |
| Claesen 9', 55', 85' Vercauteren 75' |
McStay 14' |
Stadium: Constant Vanden Stock Stadium Attendance: 26,650 Referee: Michel Vautrot (France) |
| 1987-04-29 EURO 1988 Q | Republic of Ireland | 0–0 | Belgium | Dublin |
| Stadium: Lansdowne Road Attendance: 49,000 Referee: Heinz Holzmann (Austria) |
| 1987-09-09 Friendly | Netherlands | 0–0 | Belgium | Rotterdam |
| Stadium: De Kuip Attendance: 30,311 Referee: Rolf Blattmann (Switzerland) |
| 1987-09-23 EURO 1988 Q | Bulgaria | 2–0 | Belgium | Sofia |
| Sirakov 19' Tanev 70' |
Stadium: Vasil Levski National Stadium Attendance: 60,000 Referee: Karl-Heinz Tritschler (West Germany) |
| 1987-10-14 EURO 1988 Q | Scotland | 2–0 | Belgium | Glasgow |
| McCoist 14' McStay 79' |
Stadium: Hampden Park Attendance: 16,052 Referee: Paolo Casarin (Italy) |
| 1987-11-11 EURO 1988 Q | Belgium | 3–0 | Luxembourg | Brussels |
| Ceulemans 17' Degryse 55'Creve 81' |
Stadium: Heysel Stadium Attendance: 8,000 Referee: Egil Nervik (Norway) |
| 1988-01-19 Friendly | Israel  | 2–3 | Belgium | Ramat Gan |
| Malmilian 57' Tikva 69' |
Degryse 15' Van der Linden 19'Grün 47' |
Stadium: National Stadium Attendance: 7,000 Referee: Huták Antal (Hungary) |
| 1988-03-26 Friendly | Belgium | 3–0 | Hungary | Brussels |
| Ceulemans 53' (pen.) Fitos 61' (o.g.)Severeyns 81' |
Stadium: Heysel Stadium Attendance: 8,500 Referee: Heinz Holzmann (Austria) |
| 1988-06-05 Friendly | Denmark | 3–1 | Belgium | Odense |
| Olsen 35' John Eriksen 37' (pen.) |
Ceulemans 6' |
Stadium: Odense Stadion Attendance: 20,622 Referee: Kaj Natri (Finland) |
| 1988-10-12 Friendly | Belgium | 1–2 |  Brazil | Antwerp |
| Clijsters 64' |
Geovani ?', ?' |
Stadium: Bosuilstadion Attendance: 10,000 Referee: Aron Schmidhuber (West Germany) |
| 1988-10-19 W.C. 1990 Q | Belgium | 1–0 | Switzerland | Brussels |
| Vervoort 29' |
Report | Stadium: Heysel Stadium Attendance: 14,450 Referee: David Syme (Scotland) |
| 1988-11-16 W.C. 1990 Q | Czechoslovakia  | 0–0 | Belgium | Bratislava |
| Report | Stadium: Tehelné pole Attendance: 48,000 Referee: Neil Midgley (England) |
| 1989-02-15 W.C. 1990 Q | Portugal | 1–1 | Belgium | Lisbon |
| Paneira 52' |
Report | Van der Linden 82' |
Stadium: Estádio da Luz Attendance: 43,501 Referee: Gérard Biguet (France) |
| 1989-04-29 W.C. 1990 Q | Belgium | 2–1 | Czechoslovakia | Brussels |
| Degryse 30', 77' |
Report | Luhový 41' |
Stadium: Heysel Stadium Attendance: 34,612 Referee: Emilio Soriano Aladrén (Spain) |
| 1989-05-27 Friendly | Belgium | 1–0 | Yugoslavia | Brussels |
| Van der Linden 77' (pen.) |
Stadium: Heysel Stadium Attendance: 2,335 Referee: Serge Muhmenthaler (Switzerland) |
| 1989-06-01 W.C. 1990 Q | Luxembourg | 0–5 | Belgium | Lille |
| Report | Van der Linden 13', 53', 64', 89' Vervoort 66' |
Stadium: Stade Grimonprez Jooris Attendance: 9,100 Referee: Borislav Aleksandrov (Bulgaria) |
| 1989-06-08 Friendly | Canada  | 0–2 | Belgium | Ottawa |
| Ceulemans 58' Degryse 87' |
Stadium: Terry Fox Stadium Attendance: 3,300 Referee: Adriano Brunetti (Canada) |
| 1989-08-23 Friendly | Belgium | 3–0 | Denmark | Bruges |
| Degryse 22' Ceulemans 32', 81' (pen.) |
Stadium: Olympiastadion Attendance: 6,933 Referee: Cees Bakker (Netherlands) |
| 1989-09-06 W.C. 1990 Q | Belgium | 3–0 | Portugal | Brussels |
| Ceulemans 34' Van der Linden 59', 69' |
Report | Stadium: Heysel Stadium Attendance: 28,250 Referee: Aleksey Spirin (Soviet Union) |
| 1989-10-11 W.C. 1990 Q | Switzerland | 2–2 | Belgium | Basel |
| Knup 51' Türkyilmaz 60' |
Report | Degryse 57' Geiger 72' (o.g.) |
Stadium: St. Jakob Stadium Attendance: 5,000 Referee: Lajos Hartmann (Hungary) |
| 1989-10-25 W.C. 1990 Q | Belgium | 1–1 | Luxembourg | Brussels |
| Versavel 84' |
Report | Hellers 88' |
Stadium: Heysel Stadium Attendance: 11,600 Referee: Guðmundur Haraldsson (Iceland) |
Notes edit
- ^ Friendly match at the occasion of the 75th Anniversary of the Luxembourg Football Federation; the other exhibition match in Luxembourg City, West Germany versus Yugoslavia, ended in 4–2[3]
See also edit
- Competitive record of the Belgium national football team (with tournament history and all-time team record)
References edit
- ^ "Belgium national team football match results". eu-football.info. Retrieved 22 September 2013.
- ^ "Belgium - List of International Matches". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 1 July 2016. Retrieved 7 September 2013.
- ^ "Fédération Luxembourgeoise de Football 75th Anniversary match reports". eu-football.info. Retrieved 22 September 2013.