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.