Belgium National Football Team

The Belgian football team is the selection of Belgian players representing the country at the international men's football competitions, under the auspices of the Belgian Royal Union of Football Association (URBSFA).

The Belgian internationals team nicknamed "Red Devils", in Dutch Rode Duivels, in reference to the color of their jersey, since 1906, although this nickname became official only later. During the tenure of Raymond Goethals, in the 1970s, they were also called the "White Devils 10" or "Black Devils" in the early 2000s, after the introduction of the all-black outer jersey.

The first official match of Belgium is organized on 1st May 1904 in Brussels against France and results in a split (3-3). The Belgian selection won the gold medal in 1920 at the Olympic Games. Belgium has since participated in thirteen finals of the World Cup. Their best result is third place at the 2018 World Cup in Russia. In the European Championship, their best result is a final in 1980, lost against Germany.

The results of the Red Devils in qualifying for the Euro 2016 allow them to become the eighth nation to reach first place in the FIFA world rankings in November 2015, while being ranked fifth in Europe in the UEFA ranking.

The genesis of a national team (1900-1904)

The first international football matches from a Belgian selection date back to the dawn of the 20th century. As early as Easter 1900, the Royal Leopold Football Club organized an international club tournament in Antwerp at the Kiel, Van der Straeten - Ponthoz Cup. The Beerschot, on whose ground cup is competing, also intends to set up a similar event. October 11, 1900, Jorge Diaz, honorary president of the club and future coach of the national team, therefore offers a second challenge to see compete in Antwerp the best teams in Europe. The organizers, however, face difficulties because the project does not raise the enthusiasm of the clubs, an alternative is then proposed: to compete against the selections of the best players of the Belgian championship and foreign nations. Frédéric Vanden Abeele, whose son was Beerschot's secretary, offers a trophy for the winners. The tournament ultimately boils down to a single game between a Belgian selection and a Dutch selection made up of players from Celeritas and two other second division Rotterdam clubs, Rapiditas and Olympia, chosen by a former Rotterdam footballer, Cees van Hasselt (nl). This is first match of the Belgian national team takes place on April 28, 1901 and concludes with a victory for Belgium (8-0). This match, played in front of 300 spectators, is not officially recognized today because several foreigners were present on the field, both on the Belgian and Dutch side. It was usual at the time that expatriates, especially British, were integrated into the national team, as had been accepted in a referendum held in November 1903 by La Vie Sportive (publication of the federation).

In the years following the first match, the Challenge Vanden Abeele is still held three times: twice in 1902 and once in January 1904. These three matches, always unofficial, also result in Belgian victories. The captain of Belgium in the last of these matches is Francis Dessain, future president of FC Malinois.

At that time, the coaching of the team is very different from that of today. For example, it was only during the third match, in 1902, that it was decided to provide the players with a "shirt with national colors, by a strip, the number of times that each player participated in a match". Note also that then, not only there is no national coach, but more players are not designated by a coach but by the votes of club delegates. These ratings also were the subject of tough negotiations and were influenced by many other factors that the only quality of players.

Official debut (1904-1914)

The foreign players are no longer selected, the first match recognized as official of Belgium is held on 1st May 1904 against the France team which also makes its official debut. The two teams compete at the stadium of Vivier d'Oie in Uccle, on the grounds of the Racing de Bruxelles and under the encouragement of 1500 spectators. The match ends on a tie (3-3). The first Belgian goals are scored by Georges Quéritet (twice) and Pierre-Joseph Destrebecq. The Belgian keeper was Alfred Verdyck, future Secretary General of the Belgian Football Union.