France vs Belgium: One-Point Lead and Midfield Absences
France face Belgium in the UEFA Nations League 2026/27 League A Group A1 matchday 4 on Monday 5 October at 18:45 UTC / 20:45 CEST. The scheduled (…)
Belgium’s senior national team combines a long international tradition with a modern football identity shaped by established stars and emerging talent. The Red Devils are governed by the Royal Belgian Football Association and compete within UEFA’s major national-team calendar. This page brings together the team’s identity, coaching chronology and competition history, alongside enduring features of Belgian football, from landmark tournament runs to a supporter culture rooted in national colours and shared identity.
Xtra rating
1794
Conservative: 1135
Rank national
12
Updated: 5 October 2026
Belgium Upcoming matches by league
UEFA Nations League
-
- 5
TürkiyeNo H2HBelgium
-
- 6
BelgiumNo H2HItaly
Belgium Last matches by league
UEFA Nations League
-
- League A - 4
France4 - 1Belgium
-
- League A - 3
Belgium3 - 0Türkiye
Stade Maurice Dufrasne
World Cup
Friendlies
World Cup - Qualification Europe
Euro Championship
Euro Championship - Qualification
Belgium Team Roster
Belgium’s recorded senior squad contains 26 players: five attackers, nine defenders, three goalkeepers and nine midfielders. The group includes T. Courtois, K. De Bruyne, R. Lukaku and A. Witsel, with further attacking options in J. Doku, L. Trossard and C. De Ketelaere. Defensive names include T. Castagne, T. Meunier, A. Theate and Z. Debast, while M. Penders and S. Lammens provide additional goalkeeping options. J. Seys, D. Moreira and M. Fernandez-Pardo add further variety to the recorded selection.
position Goalkeeper
position Defender
2
Zeno Koen Debast
DEF
Belgium
3
Arthur Nicolas Theate
DEF
Belgium
4
Brandon Mechele
DEF
Belgium
5
Maxim De Cuyper
DEF
Belgium
15
Nathan Ngoy
DEF
Belgium
18
Joaquin Seys
DEF
Belgium
21
Timothy Castagne
DEF
Belgium
position Midfielder
7
Kevin De Bruyne
MID
Belgium
7
Mika Marcel Godts
MID
Belgium
8
Youri Marion A. Tielemans
MID
Belgium
8
Lamine Mandela Keita
MID
Belgium
14
Dodi Lukebakio Ngandoli
MID
Belgium
20
Hans Vanaken
MID
Belgium
23
Nicolas Thierry Raskin
MID
Belgium
position Attacker
9
Romelu Menama Lukaku Bolingoli
FWD
Belgium
11
Ikoma-Loïs Openda
FWD
Belgium
17
Charles Marc De Ketelaere
FWD
Belgium
19
Diego Manuel Jadon da Silva Moreira
FWD
Portugal
22
Matias Fernandez-Pardo
FWD
Belgium
Last Belgium Coachs
Rudi Garcia is Belgium’s head coach, having begun the role on 1 January 2025. The French coach followed Domenico Tedesco, who led the team from February 2023 until January 2025. Roberto Martínez held the post from August 2016 to December 2022, preceded by Marc Wilmots between May 2012 and July 2016. Georges Leekens is also recorded in the recent timeline, serving from May 2010 to May 2012. The sequence reflects a succession of international appointments rather than a club-style staffing cycle.
Rudi Garcia
France
Coach since
1 January 2025
Coach until
History
| Coach | Coach country | Coach since | Coach until |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rudi Garcia | France | 1 January 2025 | |
| Domenico Tedesco | Italy | 1 February 2023 | 1 January 2025 |
| Roberto Martínez Montoliú | Spain | 1 August 2016 | 1 December 2022 |
| Marc Robert Wilmots | Belgium | 1 May 2012 | 1 July 2016 |
| Georges Leekens | Belgium | 1 May 2010 | 1 May 2012 |
| Dirk Nicolaas Advocaat | Netherlands | 1 October 2009 | 1 April 2010 |
| Franky Vercauteren | Belgium | 1 May 2009 | 1 September 2009 |
| Georges Leekens | Belgium | 1 February 1997 | 1 August 1999 |
| Hector Goetinck | Belgium | 1 July 1930 | 1 May 1934 |
Belgium Transfers
Belgium has no club-market arrivals because it is a national selection rather than a club. Additions occur through international call-ups, eligibility decisions and returns to selection. The recorded squad contains 26 players, but no individual incoming call-ups are identified. Players join the senior group for representative duty and remain with their clubs outside the international period; these movements therefore describe selection mechanics, not signings, loans, fees or transfer totals.
No transfers in
Belgium has no club-market departures because it is a national selection rather than a club. Changes to the senior group occur through selection omissions, withdrawals, periods of unavailability and returns to players’ clubs after international duty. No individual omission or withdrawal is identified, and the 26-player squad is not a complete movement log. These changes therefore describe the national-team process rather than sales, loans, releases, fees or a transfer balance.
No transfers out
Transfers Synthesis
Belgium’s selection cycle operates differently from a club transfer window. The senior group is assembled through eligibility, coach-led call-ups and returns to selection, while players continue their club careers outside international duty. Additions can reflect a fresh invitation, renewed availability or a place in the latest squad; departures from a camp can reflect omission, withdrawal or the scheduled return to a club. The recorded 26-player roster provides the current selection snapshot, but it does not establish every change between camps. No individual arrivals or departures are recorded for this page, so no movement total can be inferred. The meaningful continuity lies in the federation’s recurring process: identify eligible players, select a representative group, manage the international window and reassess the pool for the next fixture cycle. This is national selection activity, not recruitment or trading.
Leagues Belgium has participated in
Belgium’s recorded competition profile includes the World Cup, with participation logged from 2014 through 2026; it is the recent competition entry. The Euro Championship is recorded from 2016 to 2024, while UEFA Nations League participation spans 2018 to 2024. The team also has recorded entries in Friendlies from 2017 to 2024, World Cup qualifying in Europe from 2018 to 2024 and European Championship qualifying in 2023. These latter competitions are historical here because their latest recorded years are earlier than 2026.
More about Belgium
Belgium is the senior national football team of Belgium, founded in 1895 and commonly known as the Red Devils. The selection is governed by the Royal Belgian Football Association, which is affiliated with UEFA and FIFA. Its identity is closely linked to Belgium’s black, yellow and red national colours, while the lion and royal motifs associated with the federation reinforce a distinctive national emblem. Red home shirts have helped make the Red Devils name widely recognised in international football.
The team’s official international story began with a match against France in 1904. Belgium’s historic milestones include finishing runner-up at the 1980 European Championship and reaching fourth place at the 1986 World Cup in Mexico. The strongest modern chapter came with the so-called Golden Generation, whose run to third place at the 2018 World Cup represented the country’s best World Cup finish. Encounters with neighbours France and the Netherlands carry particular regional and historical weight, adding a familiar edge to the international calendar.
Belgium does not depend on one permanent venue for every home fixture. The King Baudouin Stadium in Brussels is the best-known national setting, while matches have also been hosted at regional grounds such as Bosuilstadion and Sclessin. Support is organised in part through 1895 Official Belgian Fan Club, giving travelling and home crowds a shared national platform.
The senior side sits within a wider development structure managed by the federation. The national training centre at Tubize connects age-group teams from under-15 level through under-21 football with the senior environment, although youth selections follow their own competitions and coaching arrangements. That separation allows the senior team to pursue World Cups and European Championships while younger sides develop through age-group tournaments. Together, the federation, venues, supporter culture and development pathway give Belgium a football identity that joins historic achievement with a continuing international programme.
Last matches statistics for Belgium
| match | shots | Poss. | Pass % | Fouls | Cards | Saves |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Belgium
1 - 1
Egypt
|
3 / 15 |
|
86 | 15 | 2 | 2 |
|
Belgium
0 - 0
Iran
|
7 / 23 |
|
86 | 7 | 1 1 | 3 |
|
New Zealand
1 - 5
Belgium
|
10 / 35 |
|
88 | 7 | - | 1 |
|
Belgium
3 - 2
Senegal
|
5 / 19 |
|
86 | 22 | 1 | 3 |
|
USA
1 - 4
Belgium
|
7 / 15 |
|
81 | 9 | - | 1 |
|
Spain
2 - 1
Belgium
|
2 / 5 |
|
78 | 18 | 2 | 6 |
|
Italy
0 - 2
Belgium
|
8 / 19 |
|
0% | 11 | 4 | 6 |
|
Belgium
0 - 1
France
|
2 / 12 |
|
0% | 12 | 3 | 5 |
|
Belgium
3 - 0
Türkiye
|
10 / 17 |
|
0% | 12 | 4 | 8 |
|
France
4 - 1
Belgium
|
2 / 5 |
|
79 | 8 | 2 | 5 |
Detailed statistics Belgium
Xtra rating history
Last rating points (most recent matches).
shots Belgium
Warnings Belgium
Passes Belgium
Goalkeeper saves Belgium
Latest start lineups Belgium (XI)
France vs Belgium
UEFA Nations League 2026 - 1528944
Belgium vs Türkiye
UEFA Nations League 2026 - 1528925
Belgium vs France
UEFA Nations League 2026 - 1528904
Italy vs Belgium
UEFA Nations League 2026 - 1528883
USA vs Belgium
World Cup 2026 - 1570715
Belgium vs Senegal
World Cup 2026 - 1567308
2026
1st shirt
2026
2nd shirt
2026
4th shirt
2026
5th shirt
2024-2025
1st shirt
2024-2025
2nd shirt
2024-2025
4th shirt
2021
1st shirt
2021
2nd shirt
2018-2019
1st shirt
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