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.
UEFA European Championships Qualification
Year Host(s) Round Pld W D L GF GA Squad Pos. Pld W D L GF GA
1960  France Did not enter Did not enter
1964  Spain Did not qualify Preliminary round 2 0 0 2 2 4
1968  Italy 2nd 6 3 1 2 14 9
1972  Belgium Third place 2 1 0 1 3 3 Squad Quarter-finals 8 5 2 1 13 4
1976  Yugoslavia Did not qualify Quarter-finals 8 3 2 3 7 10
1980  Italy Runners-up 4 1 2 1 4 4 Squad 1st 8 4 4 0 12 5
1984  France Group stage 3 1 0 2 4 8 Squad 1st 6 4 1 1 12 8
1988  West Germany Did not qualify 3rd 8 3 3 2 16 8
1992  Sweden 3rd 6 2 1 3 7 6
1996  England 3rd 10 4 3 3 17 13
2000  Belgium
 Netherlands		 Group stage 3 1 0 2 2 5 Squad Qualified as hosts
2004  Portugal Did not qualify 3rd 8 5 1 2 11 9
2008  Austria
  Switzerland		 5th 14 5 3 6 14 16
2012  Poland
 Ukraine		 3rd 10 4 3 3 21 15
2016  France Quarter-finals 5 3 0 2 9 5 Squad 1st 10 7 2 1 24 5
2020 Pan-European 5 4 0 1 9 3 Squad 1st 10 10 0 0 40 3
2024  Germany Qualified 1st 8 6 2 0 22 4
2028  United Kingdom
 Ireland		 To be determined To be determined
2032  Italy
 Turkey
Total Runners-up 22 11 2 9 31 28 — 7/17 122 65 28 29 232 119
  Champions    Runners-up    Third place/Semi-finalists

List of matches

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

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

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

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) Hosts
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

Final

Belgium 1–2 West Germany
 Report
Attendance: 47,860[1]

Euro 1984

At UEFA Euro 1984[2] the road to the knockout stage seemed open after taking a 2–0 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

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) Hosts
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

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) Hosts
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

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

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. 1 2 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

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

Group stage

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) Hosts
Notes:
  1. 1 2 3 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

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]

Euro 2024

Group stage

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Belgium 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Advance to knockout stage
2  Slovakia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3  Romania 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Possible knockout stage based on ranking
4 Play-off winner B 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
First match(es) will be played: 17 June 2024. Source: UEFA
Belgium Match 9 Slovakia
Report
Belgium Match 22 Romania
Report
Play-off winner B Match 34 Belgium
Report

Goalscorers

Player Goals 1972 1980 1984 2000 2016 2020 2024
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 3442990

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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