Belgium's all-time FIFA World Cup statistics

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In this continuously-updated article, we take a look at Belgium's all-time FIFA World Cup statistics.

All-time record across 15 FIFA World Cup appearances (1930–2026)

Confederation	UEFA
Best FIFA World Cup achievement	Third place (2018)
FIFA World Cup appearances (inc 2026)	15 (1930, 1934, 1938, 1954, 1970, 1982, 1986, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2014, 2018, 2022, 2026)
First FIFA World Cup	1930 (group stage)
Most recent FIFA World Cup	2022 (group stage)
Current sequence of successive qualifications (inc 2026)	4 (since 2014)
FIFA World Cup hosts	n/a

Record by tournament

Year - Host	Result	Head coach	Top scorer	P	W	D	L	F	A	GD
1930 - URU	Group stage	Hector Goetinck, BEL	N/A	2	0	0	2	0	4	-4
1934 - ITA	First round	Hector Goetinck, BEL	Bernard Voorhoof (2)	1	0	0	1	2	5	-3
1938 - FRA	First round	Jack Butler, ENG	Henri Isemborghs (1)	1	0	0	1	1	3	-2
1950 - BRA	Did not participate
1954 - SUI	Group stage	Doug Livingstone, SCO	Leopold Anoul (3)	2	0	1	1	5	8	-3
1958 - SWE	Did not qualify
1962 - CHI	Did not qualify
1966 - ENG	Did not qualify
1970 - MEX	Group stage	Raymond Goethals, BEL	Raoul Lambert, Wilfried Van Moer (2)	3	1	0	2	4	5	-1
1974 - FRG	Did not qualify
1978 - ARG	Did not qualify
1982 - ESP	Second round	Guy Thys, BEL	Three players (1)	5	2	1	2	3	5	-2
1986 - MEX	Fourth place	Guy Thys, BEL	Jan Ceulemans, Nico Claesen (3)	7	2	2	3	12	15	-3
1990 - ITA	Round of 16	Guy Thys, BEL	Six players (1)	4	2	0	2	6	4	2
1994 - USA	Round of 16	Paul Van Himst, BEL	Philippe Albert (2)	4	2	0	2	4	4	0
1998 - FRA	Group stage	Georges Leekens, BEL	Marc Wilmots (2)	3	0	3	0	3	3	0
2002 - JPN/KOR	Round of 16	Robert Waseige, BEL	Marc Wilmots (3)	4	1	2	1	6	7	-1
2006 - GER	Did not qualify
2010 - RSA	Did not qualify
2014 - BRA	Quarter-finals	Marc Wilmots, BEL	Six players (1)	5	4	0	1	6	3	3
2018 - RUS	Third place	Roberto Martinez, ESP	Romelu Lukaku (4)	7	6	0	1	16	6	10
2022 - QAT	Group stage	Roberto Martinez, ESP	Michy Batshuayi (1)	3	1	1	1	1	2	-1
OVERALL RECORD				51	21	10	20	69	74	-5

P = Played · W = Won · D = Drawn · L = Lost · F = Goals for · A = Goals against · GD = Goal difference

All-time World Cup record

Phase	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
Overall	51	21	10	20	69	74	-5
Group stage	36	16	9	11	48	44	4
Knockout phase	15	5	1	9	21	30	-9

GF = Goals for · GA = Goals against · GD = Goal difference

General team records

Biggest win	5-2: vs Tunisia (group stage, 23/06/2018) 3-0: vs El Salvador (group stage, 03/06/1970) 3-0: vs Panama (group stage, 18/06/2018)
Biggest defeat	2-5: vs Germany (first round, 27/05/1934) 1-4: vs Italy (group stage, 20/06/1954) 1-4: vs Soviet Union (group stage, 06/06/1970) 0-3: vs USA (group stage, 13/07/1930) 0-3: vs Poland (second round group stage, 28/06/1982)
Highest scoring draw	4-4: vs England (group stage, 17/06/1954) aet
Highest scoring match	8 goals: Belgium 4-4 England (group stage, 17/06/1954) aet
Most goals scored in a match	5 goals: 5-2 vs Tunisia (group stage, 23/06/2018)
Most goals conceded in a match	5 goals: 2-5 vs Germany (first round, 27/05/1934)
Most goals scored at a FIFA World Cup	16: 2018 (7 matches)
Fewest goals scored at a FIFA World Cup	0: 1930 (2 matches)
Most goals conceded at a FIFA World Cup	15: 1986 (7 matches)
Fewest goals conceded at a FIFA World Cup	2: 2022 (3 matches)

Streaks

Successive wins	5: 18/06/2018 - 06/07/2018
Successive defeats	4: 13/07/1930 - 05/06/1938
Successive draws	5: 13/06/1998 - 10/06/2002
Successive matches without a defeat	6: 13/06/1998 - 14/06/2002
Successive matches without a win	7: 29/06/1994 - 10/06/2002
Successive matches with a goal scored	6: 27/05/1934 - 06/06/1970
Successive matches without scoring	2: twice, most recently, 27/11/2022 - present
Successive clean sheets	2: four times, most recently, 14/07/2018 - 23/11/2022

Knockout records

Round by round WL record *ties won or lost

Round of 16 - W3 L5 *includes first round in 1934 and 1938

Quarter-finals - W2 L1

Semi-finals - W0 L2

Third-place - W1 L1

Extra time

England vs Belgium	4-4 AET (3-3, 2-1)	1954, group stage
Soviet Union vs Belgium	3-4 AET (2-2, 1-0)	1986, round of 16
Spain vs Belgium	1-1 AET (1-1, 0-1) 4-5 PSO	1986, quarter-finals
France vs Belgium	4-2 AET (2-2, 2-1)	1986, third place play-off
England vs Belgium	1-0 AET	1990, round of 16
Belgium vs USA	2-1 AET	2014, round of 16

Penalty shoot-outs

W1 L0

W 5-4 vs Spain (1986, quarter-finals)

Player records

Most FIFA World Cup participations

4 - Enzo Scifo (1986, 1990, 1994, 1998)

4 - Franky Van Der Elst (1986, 1990, 1994, 1998)

4 - Marc Wilmots (1990, 1994, 1998, 2002)

Most FIFA World Cup matches played

17 - Enzo Scifo (7-1986; 4-1990; 4-1994; 2-1998)

16 - Jan Ceulemans (5-1982; 7-1986; 4-1990)

15 - Thibaut Courtois (5-2014; 7-2018; 3-2022)

14 - Franky Van Der Elst (3-1986; 4-1990; 4-1994; 3-1998)

14 - Jan Vertonghen (5-2014; 6-2018; 3-2022)

14 - Eden Hazard (5-2014; 6-2018; 3-2022)

13 - Toby Alderweireld (4-2014; 6-2018; 3-2022)

13 - Kevin De Bruyne (4-2014; 6-2018; 3-2022)

13 - Dries Mertens (5-2014; 6-2018; 2-2022)

13 - Axel Witsel (4-2014; 6-2018; 3-2022)

Most FIFA World Cup goals scored

5 - Romelu Lukaku (1-2014; 4-2018)

5 - Marc Wilmots (2-1998; 3-2002)

4 - Jan Ceulemans (3-1986; 1-1990)

3 - Leopold Anoul (3-1954)

3 - Nico Claesen (3-1986)

3 - Eden Hazard (3-2018)

3 - Enzo Scifo (2-1986; 1-1990)

2: 11 players

Most FIFA World Cup tournaments with a goal

2 - 11 players

Youngest player to make an appearance at a FIFA World Cup

19y 60d - Divock Origi vs Algeria (17/06/2014)

19y 141d - Adnan Januzaj vs Korea Republic (26/06/2014)

19y 344d - Emile Mpenza vs Netherlands (13/06/1998)

20y 63d - Bernard Voorhoof vs USA (13/07/1930)

20y 84d - Stephane Demol vs Mexico (03/06/1986)

Youngest goalscorer at a FIFA World Cup

19y 65d - Divock Origi vs Russia (22/06/2014)

20y 96d - Stephane Demol vs Soviet Union 15/06/1986)

20y 109d - Enzo Scifo vs Iraq (08/06/1986)

21y 49d - Romelu Lukaku vs USA (01/07/2014)

21y 329d - Alex Czerniatynski vs Hungary (22/06/1982)

Oldest player to make an appearance at a FIFA World Cup

37y 119d - Wilfried Van Moer vs Poland (28/06/1982)

37y 56d - Franky Van Der Elst vs Korea Republic (25/06/1998)

36y 185d - Philippe Vande Walle vs Korea Republic (25/06/1998)

36y 164d - Michel De Wolf vs Germany (02/07/1994)

36y 148d - Daniel Van Buyten vs Argentina (05/07/2014)

Oldest goalscorer at a FIFA World Cup

33y 223d - Leo Clijsters vs Uruguay (17/06/1990)

33y 112d - Marc Wilmots vs Russia (14/06/2002)

33y 109d - Jan Ceulemans vs Uruguay (17/06/1990)

32y 158d - Georges Grun vs Germany (02/07/1994)

32y 144d - Michel De Wolf vs Korea Republic (12/06/1990)

Most consecutive appearances with a goal

3 - Marc Wilmots (04/06/2002 - 14/06/2002)

Most goals in a match

2 - Bernard Voorhoof vs Germany (1934, group stage)

2 - Leopold Anoul vs England (1954, group stage)

2 - Wilfried Van Moer vs El Salvador (1970, group stage)

2 - Marc Wilmots vs Mexico (1998, group stage)

2 - Romelu Lukaku vs Panama (2018, group stage)

2 - Eden Hazard vs Tunisia (2018, group stage)

Hat-tricks

N/A

Fastest goal scored

3' 38'' - Thomas Meunier vs England (2018, third place play-off)

5' - Leopold Anoul vs England (1954, group stage)

6' - Eden Hazard vs Tunisia (2018, group stage)

Most clean sheets (GK)

7 - Thibaut Courtois (2-2014; 3-2018; 2-2022)

3 - Michel Preudhomme (1-1990; 2-1994)

2 - Jean Marie Pfaff (2-1982)

Red cards

Eric Gerets vs Uruguay (1990, group stage)

Gert Verheyen vs Mexico (1998, group stage)

Steven Defour vs Korea Republic (2014, group stage)

Coaches

Most final tournaments

3 - Guy Thys, BEL (1982, 1986, 1990)

2 - Roberto Martinez, ESP (2018, 2022)

2 - Hector Goetinck, BEL (1930, 1934)

Most matches

16 - Guy Thys, BEL (5-1982; 7-1986; 4-1990)

10 - Roberto Martinez, ESP (7-2018; 3-2022)

5 - Marc Wilmots, BEL (5-2014)

Most matches won

7 - Roberto Martinez, ESP (6-2018; 1-2022)

6 - Guy Thys, BEL (2-1982; 2-1986; 2-1990)

4 - Marc Wilmots, BEL (4-2014)

Youngest coach

43y 295d - Jack Butler vs France (05/06/1938)

44y 130d - Hector Goetinck vs USA (13/07/1930)

44y 340d - Roberto Martinez vs Panama (18/06/2018)

Oldest coach

67y 202d - Guy Thys vs England (26/06/1990)

62y 295d - Robert Waseige vs Brazil (17/06/2002)

56y 115d - Doug Livingstone vs Italy (20/06/1954)

Penalties taken

Min.	Span	Player	Date	Match	Execution	Reason
79'	2H	Raoul Lambert, BEL	03/06/1970	BEL vs SLV	scored	Goal
21'	1H	Nico Claesen, BEL	08/06/1986	IRQ vs BEL	scored	Goal
60'	2H	Enzo Scifo, BEL	21/06/1990	BEL vs ESP	not scored	Crossbar
6'	1H	Eden Hazard, BEL	23/06/2018	BEL vs TUN	scored	Goal

Penalties faced

Min.	Span	Goalkeeper	Opposition player	Team	Date	Match	Execution
41'	1H	Leopold Gernaey	Egisto Pandolfini	Italy	20/06/1954	ITA vs BEL	Conceded
14'	1H	Christian Piot	Gustavo Pena	Mexico	11/06/1970	MEX vs BEL	Conceded
111'	E2H	Jean Marie Pfaff	Igor Belanov	Soviet Union	15/06/1986	URS vs BEL	Conceded
111'	E2H	Jean Marie Pfaff	Manuel Amoros	France	28/06/1986	FRA vs BEL	Conceded
26'	1H	Michel Preudhomme	Michel	Spain	21/06/1990	BEL vs ESP	Conceded
55'	2H	Filip De Wilde	Alberto Garcia Aspe	Mexico	20/06/1998	BEL vs MEX	Conceded
25'	1H	Thibaut Courtois	Sofiane Feghouli	Algeria	17/06/2014	BEL vs ALG	Conceded
11'	1H	Thibaut Courtois	Alphonso Davies	Canada	23/11/2022	BEL vs CAN	Saved

Complete World Cup match results

Tournament	Date	Match
1930	13/07/1930	USA 3-0 Belgium, Group stage (Montevideo-URU)
1930	20/07/1930	Paraguay 1-0 Belgium, Group stage (Montevideo-URU)
1934	27/05/1934	Germany 5-2 Belgium, First round (Florence-ITA)
1938	05/06/1938	France 3-1 Belgium, First round (Colombes-FRA)
1954	17/06/1954	England 4-4 Belgium, Group stage (Basel-SUI) aet
1954	20/06/1954	Italy 4-1 Belgium, Group stage (Lugano-SUI)
1970	03/06/1970	Belgium 3-0 El Salvador, Group stage (Mexico City-MEX)
1970	06/06/1970	Soviet Union 4-1 Belgium, Group stage (Mexico City-MEX)
1970	11/06/1970	Mexico 1-0 Belgium, Group stage (Mexico City-MEX)
1982	13/06/1982	Argentina 0-1 Belgium, Group stage (Barcelona-ESP)
1982	19/06/1982	Belgium 1-0 El Salvador, Group stage (Elche-ESP)
1982	22/06/1982	Belgium 1-1 Hungary, Group stage (Elche-ESP)
1982	28/06/1982	Poland 3-0 Belgium, Second round (group) (Barcelona-ESP)
1982	01/07/1982	Belgium 0-1 Soviet Union, Second round (group) (Barcelona-ESP)
1986	03/06/1986	Belgium 1-2 Mexico, Group stage (Mexico City-MEX)
1986	08/06/1986	Iraq 1-2 Belgium, Group stage (Toluca-MEX)
1986	11/06/1986	Paraguay 2-2 Belgium, Group stage (Toluca-MEX)
1986	15/06/1986	Soviet Union 3-4 Belgium, Round of 16 (Leon-MEX) aet
1986	22/06/1986	Spain 1-1 Belgium, Quarter-finals (Puebla-MEX) aet (4-5 PSO)
1986	25/06/1986	Argentina 2-0 Belgium, Semi-finals (Mexico City-MEX)
1986	28/06/1986	France 4-2 Belgium, Third-place play-off (Puebla-MEX) aet
1990	12/06/1990	Belgium 2-0 Korea Republic, Group stage (Verona-ITA)
1990	17/06/1990	Belgium 3-1 Uruguay, Group stage (Verona-ITA)
1990	21/06/1990	Belgium 1-2 Spain, Group stage (Verona-ITA)
1990	26/06/1990	England 1-0 Belgium, Round of 16 (Bologna-ITA) aet
1994	19/06/1994	Belgium 1-0 Morocco, Group stage (Orlando-USA)
1994	25/06/1994	Belgium 1-0 Netherlands, Group stage (Orlando-USA)
1994	29/06/1994	Belgium 0-1 Saudi Arabia, Group stage (Washington DC-USA)
1994	02/07/1994	Germany 3-2 Belgium, Round of 16 (Chicago-USA)
1998	13/06/1998	Netherlands 0-0 Belgium, Group stage (Saint-Denis-FRA)
1998	20/06/1998	Belgium 2-2 Mexico, Group stage (Bordeaux-FRA)
1998	25/06/1998	Belgium 1-1 Korea Republic, Group stage (Paris-FRA)
2002	04/06/2002	Japan 2-2 Belgium, Group stage (Saitama-JPN)
2002	10/06/2002	Tunisia 1-1 Belgium, Group stage (Oita-JPN)
2002	14/06/2002	Belgium 3-2 Russia, Group stage (Shizuoka-JPN)
2002	17/06/2002	Brazil 2-0 Belgium, Round of 16 (Kobe-JPN)
2014	17/06/2014	Belgium 2-1 Algeria, Group stage (Belo Horizonte-BRA)
2014	22/06/2014	Belgium 1-0 Russia, Group stage (Rio de Janeiro-BRA)
2014	26/06/2014	Korea Republic 0-1 Belgium, Group stage (Sao Paulo-BRA)
2014	01/07/2014	Belgium 2-1 USA, Round of 16 (Salvador-BRA) aet
2014	05/07/2014	Argentina 1-0 Belgium, Quarter-finals (Brasilia-BRA)
2018	18/06/2018	Belgium 3-0 Panama, Group stage (Sochi-RUS)
2018	23/06/2018	Belgium 5-2 Tunisia, Group stage (Moscow-RUS)
2018	28/06/2018	England 0-1 Belgium, Group stage (Kaliningrad-RUS)
2018	02/07/2018	Belgium 3-2 Japan, Round of 16 (Rostov-on-Don-RUS)
2018	06/07/2018	Brazil 1-2 Belgium, Quarter-finals (Kazan-RUS)
2018	10/07/2018	France 1-0 Belgium, Semi-finals (St. Petersburg-RUS)
2018	14/07/2018	Belgium 2-0 England, Third-place play-off (St. Petersburg-RUS)
2022	23/11/2022	Belgium 1-0 Canada, Group stage (Al Rayyan-QAT)
2022	27/11/2022	Belgium 0-2 Morocco, Group stage (Doha (Ad-Dawhah)-QAT)
2022	01/12/2022	Croatia 0-0 Belgium, Group stage (Al Rayyan-QAT)