Belgium
Belgium
Nickname(s)Red Lions
AssociationRoyal Belgian Hockey Association
ConfederationEHF (Europe)
Head CoachMichel van den Heuvel
Assistant coach(es)Steve Bayer
Shane McLeod
Xavier Reckinger
ManagerEric Pirenne
CaptainFélix Denayer
Home
Away
FIH ranking
Current 2 Steady (2 December 2023)[1]
Highest1 (December 2018 – June 2019, January 2020 – June 2021)
Lowest14 (2003–04)
Olympic Games
Appearances15 (first in 1920)
Best result1st (2020)
World Cup
Appearances7 (first in 1973)
Best result1st (2018)
European Championship
Appearances18 (first in 1970)
Best result1st (2019)
Medal record
Event 1st 2nd 3rd
Olympic Games 1 1 1
World Cup 1 1 0
European Championship 1 2 3
Hockey World League 0 1 0
Pro League 1 2 1
Total 4 7 5
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place2020 TokyoTeam
Silver medal – second place2016 Rio de JaneiroTeam
Bronze medal – third place1920 AntwerpTeam
World Cup
Gold medal – first place2018 Bhubaneswar
Silver medal – second place2023 Bhubaneswar/Rourkela
European Championship
Gold medal – first place2019 Antwerp
Silver medal – second place2013 Boom
Silver medal – second place2017 Amstelveen
Bronze medal – third place2007 Manchester
Bronze medal – third place2021 Amstelveen
Bronze medal – third place2023 Mönchengladbach
Hockey World League
Silver medal – second place2014–15 Raipur

The Belgian national men's field hockey team represents Belgium in international men's field hockey and is controlled by the Royal Belgian Hockey Association, the governing body for field hockey in Belgium.[2][3][4]

Belgium won the Men's Hockey World Cup in 2018, the European Championship in 2019, the 2020-21 FIH Pro League and the gold medal at 2020 Tokyo Olympics. They also won a silver medal at the 2023 Bhubaneswar & Rourkela and 2016 Rio de Janeiro and a bronze medal at the 1920 Antwerp Summer Olympics. They reached eight semi-finals at the European Championship since 1995, including a third place in 2007 and runners-up in 2013 and 2017.

History

Hockey was introduced in Belgium in 1902. The country's first club was founded in 1904. In 1907, several clubs established the Belgian Hockey Association. Belgium played its first international match against Germany, and was one of the founding members of the International Hockey Federation (FIH).

Between 1920 and 1978, Belgium appeared in two of the first three World Cups and in eleven out of thirteen Summer Olympics. After the successful early years (before the 1950s) with three times being among the best five at the Summer Olympics, it would last six decades before Belgium reached the international field hockey top again from the 1990s on.

By the early 2000s, the Royal Belgian Hockey Association started to invest heavily in the youth and modernized its structures. In 2007, Belgium won the bronze medal at the European Championship, a first in the country's history. Belgium also qualified for the 2008 Summer Olympics, for the first time in 32 years.

Belgium won a silver medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics, a second medal after Belgium ended third at the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp. Two years later Belgium won the 2018 Hockey World Cup. It was the first major international title in the country's history. A year later Belgium won the gold medal at the European Championship which was held in Antwerp. They secured their second consecutive olympic medal through reaching the gold medal match at the 2020 Summer Olympics.

Honours

Summer Olympics
1st place, gold medalist(s) First place: 2020
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Second place: 2016
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Third place: 1920
World Cup
1st place, gold medalist(s) First place: 2018
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Second place: 2023
European Championship
1st place, gold medalist(s) First place: 2019
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Second place: 2013, 2017
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Third place: 2007, 2021, 2023
FIH Pro League
1st place, gold medalist(s) First place: 2020–21
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Second place: 2019, 2021–22
Hockey World League
2nd place, silver medalist(s) Second place: 2014-15
Champions Challenge
1st place, gold medalist(s) First place: 2011
3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Third place: 2005
Belgian National Sports Merit Award
Winners: 1959, 2019
Belgian Sportsteam of the Year
Winners: 2012, 2016, 2018, 2019

Tournament history

A red box around the year indicates a tournament played within Belgium.

Summer Olympics

  Gold    Silver    Bronze    Fourth place

In 1920, Belgium's field hockey team won the bronze medal at home, at the Olympic Stadium in Antwerp.
Olympic Games record
Year Round Position Pld W D* L GF GA
United Kingdom 1908 did not participate
Sweden 1912 Not held
Belgium 1920 Bronze medal 3rd 3 1 0 2 6 19
France 1924 Not held
Netherlands 1928 Fourth place 4th 5 3 0 2 8 12
United States 1932 did not participate
Nazi Germany 1936 Group phase 9th 3 0 2 1 5 8
United Kingdom 1948 Group phase 5th 4 2 0 2 6 8
Finland 1952 Second round 9th 2 1 0 1 6 1
Australia 1956 Group phase 7th 3 0 1 2 0 5
Italy 1960 Group phase 11th 5 1 1 3 7 9
Japan 1964 Group phase 11th 7 2 2 3 10 13
Mexico 1968 Group phase 9th 8 4 1 3 17 9
West Germany 1972 Group phase 10th 8 2 1 5 9 16
Canada 1976 Group phase 9th 6 3 0 3 11 19
Soviet Union 1980 did not qualify
United States 1984
South Korea 1988
Spain 1992
United States 1996
Australia 2000
Greece 2004
China 2008 Group phase 9th 6 2 1 3 12 13
United Kingdom 2012 Group phase 5th 6 3 1 2 13 9
Brazil 2016 Runners-up 2nd 8 6 0 2 29 11
Japan 2020 Champion 1st 8 6 2 0 35 13
TotalBest: Champion15/2582361234174163

World Cup

Belgium captain Thomas Briels lifting the 2018 World Cup trophy

  Champions    Runners-up    Third place    Fourth place

FIH World Cup record
Year Round Position Pld W D* L GF GA
Spain 1971 did not participate
Netherlands 1973 Group phase 8th 5 2 0 3 8 12
Malaysia 1975 did not participate
Argentina 1978 Group phase 14th 6 1 2 3 12 18
India 1982 did not participate
England 1986
Pakistan 1990
Australia 1994 Group phase 11th 5 0 1 4 6 26
Netherlands 1998 did not qualify
Malaysia 2002 Group phase 14th 7 0 0 7 7 23
Germany 2006 did not qualify
India 2010
Netherlands 2014 5th–6th play-off 5th 6 4 0 2 21 13
India 2018 Winners 1st 7 5 2 0 22 5
India 2023 Runners-up 2nd 6 3 3 0 21 8
Belgium / Netherlands 2026 Qualified
TotalBest: Winners7/15421581997105

European Championship

  Champions    Runners-up    Third place    Fourth place

European Championship Record
Year Round Position Pld W D* L GF GA
Belgium 1970 Second round 5th 7 6 0 1 18 7
Spain 1974 Group phase 10th 6 2 1 3 7 9
West Germany 1978 did not participate
Netherlands 1983 Group phase 8th 7 2 1 4 8 17
Soviet Union 1987 Group phase 10th 7 1 3 3 14 21
France 1991 Group phase 9th 7 4 0 3 14 17
Republic of Ireland 1995 Fourth place 4th 7 3 2 2 12 8
Italy 1999 Fourth place 4th 7 4 0 3 19 28
Spain 2003 Group phase 6th 7 2 2 3 21 21
Germany 2005 Fourth place 4th 5 1 1 3 6 20
England 2007 Third place 3rd 5 2 2 1 16 14
Netherlands 2009 Group phase 5th 5 3 0 2 22 11
Germany 2011 Fourth place 4th 5 2 0 3 14 12
Belgium 2013 Runners-up 2nd 5 3 1 1 12 6
England 2015 Group phase 5th 5 3 1 1 20 13
Netherlands 2017 Runners-up 2nd 5 2 1 2 13 9
Belgium 2019 Winners 1st 5 5 0 0 22 2
Netherlands 2021 Third place 3rd 5 3 1 1 19 10
Germany 2023 Third place 3rd 5 4 0 1 17 8
Total1 title18/19105521637273236

FIH Pro League

  Champions    Runners-up    Third place    Fourth place

FIH Pro League record
Year Round Position Pld W D* L GF GA
Netherlands 2019 Runners-up 2nd 16 9 3 4 57 33
2020–21 Winners 1st 14 9 3 2 40 26
2021–22 Runners-up 2nd 16 10 4 2 52 25
2022–23 Third place 3rd 16 10 0 6 42 37
TotalBest: Winners4/462381014191121

Hockey World League (defunct)

  Winners    Runners-up    Third place    Fourth place

Hockey World League record
Year Position Round Pld W D* L GF GA
2012–135th Round 25500446
Semifinal6420189
Final 6 1 2 3 9 10
2014–152nd Semifinal7511218
Final 6 3 1 2 14 9
2016–175th Semifinal7601378
Final 5 4 0 1 15 5
TotalBest: 2ndFinal42286815855

Champions Trophy (defunct)

  Winners    Runners-up    Third place    Fourth place

Champions Trophy record
Year Round Position Pld W D* L GF GA
Pakistan 1978
until
New Zealand 2011		 did not participate
Australia 2012 First round 5th 6 2 0 4 15 16
India 2014 Second round 8th 6 1 3 2 13 15
United Kingdom 2016 Second round 5th 6 2 2 2 13 15
Netherlands 2018 Second round 5th 6 1 4 1 12 15
TotalBest: 5th place4/37246995361

Champions Challenge (defunct)

  Winners    Runners-up    Third place    Fourth place

Champions Challenge record
Year Round Position Pld W D* L GF GA
Malaysia 2001 5th–6th play-off 6th 6 0 0 6 6 18
South Africa 2003 did not participate
Egypt 2005 Third place 3rd 9 6 2 1 26 17
Belgium 2007 5th–6th play-off 6th 6 1 1 4 13 21
Australia 2009 7th–8th play-off 7th 5 2 0 3 13 9
South Africa 2011 Winners 1st 6 4 2 0 22 12
Argentina 2012 did not participate
Malaysia 2014
TotalBest: Winners5/832135148077
*Draws include matches decided on a penalty shoot-out.

Team

Current squad

The following 18 players were named on 30 December 2023 for the 2024 Men's FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifiers from 13 to 21 January 2024 in Valencia, Spain.[5]

Head coach: Netherlands Michel van den Heuvel

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) CapsClub
2 GK Loic Van Doren (1996-09-14) 14 September 1996 51 Belgium Dragons
21 GK Vincent Vanasch (1987-12-21) 21 December 1987 273 Belgium Orée
4 DF Arthur Van Doren (1994-10-01) 1 October 1994 232 Netherlands Bloemendaal
12 DF Gauthier Boccard (1991-08-26) 26 August 1991 281 Belgium Léopold
16 DF Alexander Hendrickx (1993-08-06) 6 August 1993 175 Netherlands Pinoké
23 DF Arthur De Sloover (1997-05-03) 3 May 1997 147 Netherlands Oranje-Rood
25 DF Loïck Luypaert (1991-08-19) 19 August 1991 294 Belgium Braxgata
29 DF Maxime Van Oost (1999-12-02) 2 December 1999 24 Belgium Waterloo Ducks
7 MF John-John Dohmen (1988-01-24) 24 January 1988 458 Belgium Orée
19 MF Félix Denayer (Captain) (1990-01-31) 31 January 1990 380 Belgium Dragons
26 MF Victor Wegnez (1995-12-25) 25 December 1995 152 Belgium Racing
31 MF Arno Van Dessel (2003-07-03) 3 July 2003 23 Belgium Herakles
3 FW Thibeau Stockbroekx (2000-07-20) 20 July 2000 22 Netherlands Oranje-Rood
8 FW Florent van Aubel (1991-10-25) 25 October 1991 284 Netherlands Pinoké
20 FW William Ghislain (1999-07-28) 28 July 1999 29 Belgium Waterloo Ducks
27 FW Tom Boon (1990-01-25) 25 January 1990 335 Belgium Léopold
30 FW Nelson Onana (2000-03-01) 1 March 2000 20 Belgium Braxgata
32 FW Tanguy Cosyns (1991-06-29) 29 June 1991 170 Belgium Racing

Recent call-ups

The following players have been called up for the national team in the last 12 months.

Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Club Latest call-up
GK Simon Vandenbroucke (1999-06-06) 6 June 1999 5 Belgium Waterloo Ducks v.  Netherlands, 4 July 2023
DF Emmanuel Stockbroekx (1993-12-23) 23 December 1993 193 Belgium Orée 2023 EuroHockey Championship
DF Nicolas Poncelet (1996-09-19) 19 September 1996 36 Belgium Léopold v.  New Zealand, 21 June 2023
MF Antoine Kina (1996-02-13) 13 February 1996 110 Belgium Gantoise 2023 EuroHockey Championship
MF Tobias Biekens (2001-01-02) 2 January 2001 5 Belgium Braxgata v.  Great Britain, 4 June 2023
MF Guillermo Hainaut (2002-06-08) 8 June 2002 4 Belgium Uccle Sport v.  Great Britain, 28 May 2023
MF Simon Gougnard (1991-01-17) 17 January 1991 322 Belgium Racing 2023 FIH Hockey World Cup
FW Cédric Charlier (1987-11-27) 27 November 1987 370 Belgium Racing 2023 EuroHockey Championship
FW Nicolas De Kerpel (1993-03-23) 23 March 1993 112 Belgium Herakles 2023 EuroHockey Championship
FW Sébastien Dockier (1989-12-28) 28 December 1989 243 Netherlands Pinoké v.  Spain, 3 July 2023
FW Roman Duvekot (2000-06-21) 21 June 2000 3 Belgium Gantoise v.  Great Britain, 28 May 2023
FW Thomas Crols (2003-09-11) 11 September 2003 1 Belgium Dragons v.  Great Britain, 28 May 2023
FW Guillaume Hellin (2001-05-28) 28 May 2001 1 Belgium Gantoise v.  India, 26 May 2023

See also

References

  1. ↑ "FIH Outdoor World Hockey Rankings". FIH. 2 December 2023. Retrieved 2 December 2023.
  2. ↑ Jonckheere, Karien. "Newly crowned hockey champs Belgium's SA connection". SuperSport. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
  3. ↑ "Craig Fulton helps guide Belgium to maiden hockey World Cup". www.irishtimes.com. 16 December 2018. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
  4. ↑ "Fulton's pride shines as the Red Lions claim World Cup crown". www.independent.ie. 17 December 2018. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
  5. ↑ "Olympische kwalificatie: de selectie van de Red Lions". hockey.be (in Dutch). Royal Belgian Hockey Association. 30 December 2023.
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