Belgium World Cup Blog Kick Off

Welcome to the Belgium National Team Blog. I am thrilled to blog the Rode Duivels. You can expect informative and passionate posts from one of the few Belgium fans residing in the U.S., myself. I want to take the time to introduce you to the team in this first post.
Nickname: Rode duivels/ Les Diables Rouges in Dutch and French, which translates to The Red Devils in English.
Colors: Black and Red.
Stadium: King Baudouin Stadium.
Rival: Netherlands.
Coach: René Vandereycken
FIFA Rank: 46.
Best FIFA Rank: 16.
First Official Match: May 1, 1904 vs. France, which ended in a 3-3 draw.
Most Player Caps: Jan Ceulemans (96).
Most Goals: Paul van Himst and Bernard Voorhoof with 30 goals.
Some Famous Players: Jean-Marie Pfaff, Enzo Scifo, Jan Ceulemans, Michel Preud’homme, Éric Gerets.
World Cup Appearances: Belgium has appeared in the World Cup 11 times. Unfortunately, those frequent journeys have not translated to much success. They usually went home early in the opening rounds. Their best result was in 1986 when they finished fourth place. They lost the third place match that year against France 4-2. Sadly, Belgium missed the 2006 World Cup in Germany. Spain and Serbia/Montenegro made it through qualification group 7 at their expense. The Rode Duivels finished 4 out of 6 in the group with only 12 points (Bosnia and Herzegovina even had more points). Belgium is in group 5 for the 2010 FIFA World Cup UEFA qualifying with Spain, Turkey, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Armenia, and Estonia. Spain is expected to win the group with 25th ranked Turkey favored for second place. I think that Belgium can give Turkey a hard time and possibly sneak into the tournament. Their first qualifying match will be held on September 6th of this year against Estonia. Let’s please make it to South Africa. Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands are currently bidding to jointly host the 2018 World Cup.
Europe Championship Appearances: Belgium has fared worse in this competition. They have only made four appearances and surprisingly had an early exit in 2000 when they jointly hosted the tournament with the Netherlands. Their best result thus far was third place in 1972, the year they first hosted.
Brief Country Information: The Kingdom of Belgium (Koninkrijk België/Royaume de Belgique) is a country located in Europe between France and Germany. The nation is strongly divided between its two major linguistic groups, the French speakers (34% of the country) and the Dutch speakers (58%). It is a small country with a rich culture. Football is the most popular sport there followed by cycling. The nation is famous for several athletes including cyclist Eddy Merckx, and two female tennis stars, Justine Henin and Kim Clijsters. Belgian cuisine is famous for its chocolate, high quality beers, frites (“french fries”), and blend of Latin and Germanic cooking. Belgium culture is also well known for The Smurfs and The Adventures of Tintin.
Most of Belgium’s selections usually come from the Belgian Jupiler League.
Recent Selections (Italy-Belgium Friendly):
Logan Bailly (KRC Genk)
Steven Defour (Standard CL)
Mark De Man (RSC Anderlecht)
Moussa Dembélé (AZ Alkmaar)
Marouane Fellaini (Standard CL)
Guillaume Gillet (RSC Anderlecht)
Carl Hoefkens (West Bromwich Albion)
Stein Huysegems (FC Twente)
Vincent Kompany (Hamburger SV)
Kevin Mirallas (Lille OSC)
Gaby Mudingayi (Lazio)
Sebastien Pocognoli (AZ Alkmaar)
Olivier Renard (KV Mechelen)
Timmy Simons (PSV Eindhoven)
Wesley Sonck (Club Brugge KV)
Stijn Stijnen (Club Brugge KV)
Gill Swerts (Vitesse Arnhem)
Daniel Van Buyten (FC Bayern München)
Jan Vertonghen (Ajax Amsterdam)
Axel Witsel (Standard CL)
Olympic Games Appearances: Won bronze in 1900 and gold in 1920. A 2-2 draw against their rival, Netherlands, gained them a spot in this year’s competition in Beijing. Belgium is in a really tough group unfortunately. They have the host, and Brazil in their group. We cannot hope for too much here. I just don’t want us to finish last.
Related Posts
Subscribe
|
Print
|
Share
|
Comments are closed
Send Your Tips!
Email tips[at]worldcupblog[dot]org
Belgium Club Football News
- Would You Rather: Club Win the League? Or Country Win the World Cup?
- Daily Dose: October 11th, 2009.
- The Atlantic League: A European Not-Quite-Super-But Still-Quite-Good-League for Celtic, Rangers and Others
- Is Watching Football on the Internet The Future?
- The FFT100 - Agree? Disagree?
More Europe Blogs
France World Cup Blog
782 Articles | 9,764 Comments
Croatia World Cup Blog
191 Articles | 1,816 Comments
Czech Republic World Cup Blog
196 Articles | 320 Comments
England World Cup Team Blog
803 Articles | 2,750 Comments
Germany World Cup Blog Blog
482 Articles | 3,066 Comments
Italy World Cup Blog
562 Articles | 21,440 Comments
Netherlands World Cup Blog
1,995 Articles | 25,998 Comments
Poland World Cup Blog
347 Articles | 4,081 Comments
Portugal World Cup Blog
447 Articles | 6,804 Comments
Serbia World Cup Team Blog
168 Articles | 847 Comments
Spain World Cup Blog
234 Articles | 1,922 Comments
Sweden World Cup Blog
151 Articles | 318 Comments
Switzerland World Cup Blog
217 Articles | 327 Comments
Ukraine World Cup Team Blog
116 Articles | 783 Comments
Greece World Cup Blog
140 Articles | 68 Comments
Russia World Cup Blog
78 Articles | 136 Comments
Scotland World Cup Team Blog
99 Articles | 108 Comments
Ireland World Cup Team Blog
48 Articles | 74 Comments
Norway World Cup Team Blog
9 Articles | 6 Comments
Turkey World Cup Blog
39 Articles | 293 Comments
Romania World Cup Blog
78 Articles | 281 Comments
Austria World Cup Blog
111 Articles | 117 Comments
Denmark World Cup Team Blog
8 Articles | 27 Comments
Albania World Cup Team Blog
4 Articles | 8 Comments
Belgium World Cup Team Blog
49 Articles | 59 Comments
Wales World Cup Team Blog
61 Articles | 17 Comments
Bosnia World Cup Team Blog
28 Articles | 47 Comments
Israel World Cup Team Blog
22 Articles | 18 Comments
Monthly Archives
World 







