Belgium at the UEFA European Championship

The UEFA European Championship is the main football competition of the men's national football teams governed by UEFA (the Union of European Football Associations). Held every four years since 1960, in the even-numbered year between World Cup tournaments, it was originally called the UEFA European Nations Cup, changing to the current name in 1968. Starting with the 1996 tournament, specific championships are often referred to in the form "Euro 2008" or whichever year is appropriate. Prior to entering the tournament, all teams other than the host nations (which qualify automatically) compete in a qualifying process.

Belgium have participated in six UEFA European Championships finals, those held in 1972, 1980, 1984, 2000, 2016, and 2020, which was postponed to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As of 2 July 2021, they have played 22 matches: eleven wins, two draws and nine losses.

Overview

Overall record

  Champions    Runners-up    Third place    Fourth place

Line-ups for the UEFA Euro 1980 Final in which Belgium (red) faced the 1976 runners-up West Germany (white). The respective coaches were Guy Thys and Jupp Derwall.
Belgium's UEFA European Championship record Qualifying record
Year Round Pos. Pld W D L GF GA Squad Outcome Pld W D L GF GA
1960 Did not enter Did not enter
1964 Did not qualify Preliminary loss 2 0 0 2 2 4
1968 2nd of 4 6 3 1 2 14 9
1972 Third place 3rd of 4 2 1 0 1 3 3 Squad Quarter-finals win 8 5 2 1 13 4
1976 Did not qualify 1st of 4, playoff loss 8 3 2 3 7 10
1980 Runners-up 2nd of 8 4 1 2 1 4 4 Squad 1st of 5 8 4 4 0 12 5
1984 Group stage 6th of 8 3 1 0 2 4 8 Squad 1st of 4 6 4 1 1 12 8
1988 Did not qualify 3rd of 5 8 3 3 2 16 8
1992 3rd of 4 6 2 1 3 7 6
1996 3rd of 6 10 4 3 3 17 13
2000 Group stage 12th of 16 3 1 0 2 2 5 Squad Qualified as hosts
2004 Did not qualify 3rd of 5 8 5 1 2 11 9
2008 5th of 8 14 5 3 6 14 16
2012 3rd of 6 10 4 3 3 21 15
2016 Quarter-finals 7th of 24 5 3 0 2 9 5 Squad 1st of 6 10 7 2 1 24 5
2020 5th of 24 5 4 0 1 9 3 Squad 1st of 6 10 10 0 0 40 3
Total Runners-up 6/16 21 11 2 9 31 28 — Total 114 59 26 29 210 115
  Champions    Runners-up    Third place/semi-finalists  

List of matches

Euro 1972
Main article: UEFA Euro 1972

Belgium hosted the European Championship twice, as they were chosen amongst the four semi-finalists to host the event, and ended third by beating Hungary.

Final tournament
Main article: UEFA Euro 1972 final tournament
Semi-finals
Belgium 1–2 West Germany
  • Polleunis 83'
 Report
Attendance: 55,669
Third place play-off
Hungary 1–2 Belgium
 Report
Attendance: 6,184

Euro 1980
Main article: UEFA Euro 1980

Under the guidance of manager Guy Thys, Belgium achieved their best European result at the 1980 edition in Italy. After finishing first in the group phase, before football nations Italy, England and Spain, Belgium stood in the final against West Germany. After the German opener from Horst Hrubesch and the penalty equalizer from René Vandereycken, the match seemed to go in extra time. Two minutes before the end of the regular playing time, Hrubesch's second goal ended the Belgian dream of winning a first major (non-Olympic) tournament.

Group stage
Main article: UEFA Euro 1980 Group 2
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Belgium 3 1 2 0 3 2 +1 4 Advance to final
2  Italy (H) 3 1 2 0 1 0 +1 4 Advance to third place play-off
3  England 3 1 1 1 3 3 0 3
4  Spain 3 0 1 2 2 4 −2 1
Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
(H) Host
Belgium 1–1 England
 Report
Attendance: 15,186
Belgium 2–1 Spain
 Report
Attendance: 11,430
Italy 0–0 Belgium
Report
Attendance: 42,318

Knockout stage
Main article: UEFA Euro 1980 knockout stage

Final

Main article: UEFA Euro 1980 Final
Belgium 1–2 West Germany
 Report
Attendance: 47,860[1]

Euro 1984
Main article: UEFA Euro 1984

At UEFA Euro 1984[2] the road to the knockout stage seemed open after taking a 0–2 lead in their last group match against Denmark, but the Red Devils could not prevent Danish Dynamite to turn the tide in their favour.

Group stage
Main article: UEFA Euro 1984 Group 1
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  France (H) 3 3 0 0 9 2 +7 6 Advance to knockout stage
2  Denmark 3 2 0 1 8 3 +5 4
3  Belgium 3 1 0 2 4 8 −4 2
4  Yugoslavia 3 0 0 3 2 10 −8 0
Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
(H) Host
Belgium 2–0 Yugoslavia
 Report
Attendance: 41,525
France 5–0 Belgium
 Report
Attendance: 51,359
Denmark 3–2 Belgium
 Report
Attendance: 36,911

Euro 2000

The Belgian team was one of the major disappointments of the 2000 edition with a first-round exit. This early exit was fairly unexpected since during the eight preparational friendlies for Euro 2000 under Robert Waseige Belgium played well,[3] winning three times convincingly and losing only once (2–1 against England). At Euro 2000, Belgium first won against Sweden 2–1 via goals from Bart Goor in the 43rd minute and Émile Mpenza in the 46th minute against Sweden's one by Johan Mjallby in the 53rd minute after a terrible error of goalkeeper Filip De Wilde. In the second match, Belgium lost 2–0 against the eventual tournament runners-up Italy by a header from Francesco Totti in the fifth minute and Stefano Fiore's goal of the tournament (according to the United Kingdom's Match of the Day television programme) in the 66th minute.[4] In the crucial match where Belgium needed one more point to move ahead to the quarter-finals, they lost 2–0 against Turkey (two goals from Hakan Şükür in the 45th after another error of goalkeeper Filip De Wilde, and 70th minute). In the 83rd minute of that last group match, De Wilde even ended his tournament, being sent off for attacking Arif Erdem outside the penalty area.[5]

Group stage
Main article: UEFA Euro 2000 Group B
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Italy 3 3 0 0 6 2 +4 9 Advance to knockout stage
2  Turkey 3 1 1 1 3 2 +1 4
3  Belgium (H) 3 1 0 2 2 5 −3 3
4  Sweden 3 0 1 2 2 4 −2 1
Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
(H) Host
Belgium 2–1 Sweden
 Report
Attendance: 46,700
Referee: Markus Merk (Germany)
Italy 2–0 Belgium
 Report
Attendance: 44,500
Turkey 2–0 Belgium
 Report
Attendance: 48,000

Euro 2016
Main article: UEFA Euro 2016

Just like in Belgium's previous Euro tournament in 2000, they lost 2–0 to Italy in the group phase.[6] In spite of winning with broad margins against the Republic of Ireland (3–0)[7] and Hungary (4–0) at UEFA Euro 2016,[8][9] Belgium's second very talented generation disappointed with a quarter-final exit. As during the tournament's qualifiers, Wales got the better of Belgium, with a 3–1 win.[10]

Group stage
Main article: UEFA Euro 2016 Group E
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Italy 3 2 0 1 3 1 +2 6[lower-alpha 1] Advance to knockout phase
2  Belgium 3 2 0 1 4 2 +2 6[lower-alpha 1]
3  Republic of Ireland 3 1 1 1 2 4 −2 4
4  Sweden 3 0 1 2 1 3 −2 1
Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
Notes:
  1. Head-to-head result: Belgium 0–2 Italy.
Belgium 0–2 Italy
Report
Attendance: 55,408[11]
Belgium 3–0 Republic of Ireland
 Report
Attendance: 39,493[12]
Sweden 0–1 Belgium
Report
Attendance: 34,011[13]
Referee: Felix Brych (Germany)

Knockout phase
Main article: UEFA Euro 2016 knockout phase

Round of 16

Hungary 0–4 Belgium
Report
Attendance: 28,921[14]

Quarter-finals

Wales 3–1 Belgium
 Report
Attendance: 45,936[15]

Euro 2020
Main article: UEFA Euro 2020

Group stage
Main article: UEFA Euro 2020 Group B
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Belgium 3 3 0 0 7 1 +6 9 Advance to knockout phase
2  Denmark (H) 3 1 0 2 5 4 +1 3[lower-alpha 1]
3  Finland 3 1 0 2 1 3 −2 3[lower-alpha 1]
4  Russia (H) 3 1 0 2 2 7 −5 3[lower-alpha 1]
Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
(H) Host
Notes:
  1. Tied on head-to-head points (3). Head-to-head goal difference: Denmark +2, Finland 0, Russia −2.
Belgium 3–0 Russia
 Report
Attendance: 26,264[16]
Denmark 1–2 Belgium
 Report
Attendance: 23,395[17]
Finland 0–2 Belgium
Report
Attendance: 18,545[18]
Referee: Felix Brych (Germany)

Knockout phase
Main article: UEFA Euro 2020 knockout phase

Round of 16

Belgium 1–0 Portugal
 Report
Attendance: 11,504[19]
Referee: Felix Brych (Germany)

Quarter-finals

Belgium 1–2 Italy
 Report
Attendance: 12,984[20]

Goalscorers
Player Goals 1972 1980 1984 2000 2016 2020
Romelu Lukaku 6 24
Jan Ceulemans 2 11
Thorgan Hazard 2 2
Radja Nainggolan 2 2
Toby Alderweireld 1 1
Michy Batshuayi 1 1
Yannick Carrasco 1 1
Julien Cools 1 1
Kevin De Bruyne 1 1
Eric Gerets 1 1
Bart Goor 1 1
Georges Grün 1 1
Eden Hazard 1 1
Raoul Lambert 1 1
Thomas Meunier 1 1
Émile Mpenza 1 1
Odilon Polleunis 1 1
Paul Van Himst 1 1
Erwin Vandenbergh 1 1
René Vandereycken 1 1
Frank Vercauteren 1 1
Axel Witsel 1 1
Own goals 1 1
Total 31 344299

See also

Notes
  1. Nielsen suffered an injury in the 39th minute and was replaced by fourth official Günter Benkö (Austria).

    References
    1. "European Football Championship 1980 FINAL". euro2000.org. Union of European Football Associations. Archived from the original on 17 August 2000. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
    2. Brera, Gianni (17 June 1984). "Festival di Platini sul tetto d' Europa". la Repubblica (in Italian). p. 26.
    3. "Experimental Italy sinks Belgium clearly wins: 3–1". repubblica.it (in Italian). 13 November 1999.
    4. "Fiore strike scoops top spot". BBC Sport. 1 July 2000. Retrieved 6 June 2008.
    5. Piva, Gianni (20 June 2000). "Hakan Sukur, 2 gol la Turchia in delirio". la Repubblica (in Italian). p. 58.
    6. Cantalupi, Stefano (13 June 2016). "Euro 2016, Belgium-Italy 0-2: goals from Giaccherini and Pellé, Conte at top of his group". gazzetta.it (in Italian).
    7. Carotenuto, Angelo (19 June 2016). "Nel segno di Lukaku il Belgio ritrova il suo passo da grande". la Repubblica (in Italian). p. 60.
    8. "Belgium ease to 3–0 victory vs. Rep. Ireland". ESPN FC. 18 June 2016. Archived from the original on 14 June 2016. Retrieved 2 July 2016.
    9. "Hazard shines as Belgium thrash Hungary". ESPN FC. 26 June 2016. Archived from the original on 21 July 2016. Retrieved 2 July 2016.
    10. "Wales stun Belgium to reach Euro semifinal". ESPN FC. 1 July 2016. Archived from the original on 21 July 2016. Retrieved 2 July 2016.
    11. "Full Time Summary – Belgium v Italy" (PDF). UEFA.org. Union of European Football Associations. 13 June 2016. Retrieved 13 June 2016.
    12. "Full Time Summary – Belgium v Republic of Ireland" (PDF). UEFA.org. Union of European Football Associations. 18 June 2016. Retrieved 18 June 2016.
    13. "Full Time Summary – Sweden v Belgium" (PDF). UEFA.org. Union of European Football Associations. 22 June 2016. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
    14. "Full Time Summary – Hungary v Belgium" (PDF). UEFA.org. Union of European Football Associations. 26 June 2016. Retrieved 26 June 2016.
    15. "Full Time Summary – Wales v Belgium" (PDF). UEFA.org. Union of European Football Associations. 1 July 2016. Retrieved 1 July 2016.
    16. "Full Time Summary – Belgium v Russia" (PDF). UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 12 June 2021. Retrieved 12 June 2021.
    17. "Full Time Summary – Denmark v Belgium" (PDF). UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 17 June 2021. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
    18. "Full Time Summary – Finland v Belgium" (PDF). UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 21 June 2021. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
    19. "Full Time Summary – Belgium v Portugal" (PDF). UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 27 June 2021. Retrieved 27 June 2021.
    20. "Full Time Summary – Belgium v Italy" (PDF). UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 2 July 2021. Retrieved 2 July 2021.
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