Belgium
Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s)Belgian Red Flames
AssociationRoyal Belgian Football Association (KBVB/URBSFA)
ConfederationUEFA (Europe)
Head coachIves Serneels
CaptainTessa Wullaert
Most capsJanice Cayman (138)
Top scorerTessa Wullaert (75)
Home stadiumDen Dreef
(Leuven)
FIFA codeBEL
First colours
Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current 18 Steady (15 December 2023)[1]
Highest17 (December 2019 – December 2020)
Lowest35 (November 2010 – July 2011)
First international
 France 1–2 Belgium 
(Reims, France; 30 May 1976)
Biggest win
 Belgium 19–0 Armenia 
(Leuven, Belgium; 25 November 2021)
Biggest defeat
 Norway 8–0 Belgium 
(Kolbotn, Norway; 26 September 1992)
 Spain 9–1 Belgium 
(Alginet, Spain; 29 February 2004)
European Championship
Appearances2 (first in 2017)
Best resultQuarter-finals (2022)

The Belgium women's national football team (nicknamed Belgian Red Flames) represents Belgium in international women's football. It is controlled by the Royal Belgian Football Association, the governing body for football in Belgium. Their home stadium is Den Dreef and their current coach Ives Serneels. During most of their history the team has had poor results but showed improvement in the Euro 2013 and 2015 World Cup Qualifiers. In 2016, they qualified for their first major tournament: Euro 2017. In 2022, they won the Pinatar Cup in San Pedro del Pinatar (Spain).

History

Early days (1976–1984)

Belgium played its first match against France on May 30, 1976 at Stade Auguste Delaune in Reims, France. The game ended in a 2–1 victory. A year after this debut, the Belgian team played against Switzerland and France, tying both matches, 2–2 and 1–1 respectively. The next year, they faced the same opposition once more and won both games by scores of 1-0 and 2-0. Another victory followed against Yugoslavia with 1–0. The team's first defeat however came at the hands of England: 3–0, which was followed by a 2–0 loss against France and a 2–2 tie against the Netherlands. In the following years, Belgium kept playing mostly against European teams.

First tournaments (1984–1989)

Belgium participated in qualifications for the first time for the 1984 European Competition for Women's Football. They were sorted in Group 4 with the Netherlands, Denmark and West Germany. The campaign started off well with a 3–2 victory over the Netherlands, but continued with a 1–0 loss against Denmark and a 1–1 draw against West Germany. Despite having a neutral goal difference at this point, the Belgian team ended up last in the group after a 5–0 defeat against the Netherlands and draws against their other two opponents, 2–2 against Denmark and 1–1 against West Germany.

Their second attempt at qualifying was for the 1987 European Competition, where they were joined in Group 3 by France, the Netherlands again and Sweden. Their games against France were one win and one loss, both 3–1. Their matches against their two other opponents however were all defeats: 3–1 and 3–0 against The Netherlands, and 5–0 and 2–1 against Sweden. This resulted in Belgium again ending last in the group.

In attempting to qualify for the 1989 tournament they did better. They played in Group 4 against four other teams: Czechoslovakia, France, Spain and Bulgaria. Among the eight games, they won two, drew four and lost two, with 7 goals for and 4 against. This earned them third place in the group of five, which did not suffice for qualification.

Stagnation (1990–2011)

The Belgian team suffered a series of poor results from 1990 to 2011. They never won even half of their matches in any of the qualification campaigns during this period, except for one. This notable exception was the 2003 Women's World Cup qualifiers, where they won five games and suffered only one loss. Scotland however had achieved the same result and with better goal difference, leaving Belgium second in their group. This was nevertheless Belgium's best performance at the World Cup qualifiers until 2019 when they went out in the play-offs. It was followed by their worst: they lost all eight games in the next iteration (2007). At the UEFA Women's Euro qualifications, their best performances during this period were at the 1995 edition and the 2009 edition, both times losing 'only' half of their matches and drawing one.

Improvements (2011–2018)

An era of victories began when Ives Serneels replaced Anne Noë as manager in 2011. Serneels led the team to improved qualification campaigns for Euro 2013 and 2015 World Cup, both times ending third in the group (just short of qualifying). Between both campaigns, the Belgian female football team adopted the nickname "Belgian Red Flames".[2] Following the improvements, the RBFA invested in more growth in 2015, targeting qualification for Euro 2017.[3] After a successful start in their qualifications group, the team was invited to play at the 2016 Algarve Cup in Portugal, one of the most prestigious women's international football events.

Belgium finished second in their Euro 2017 qualifications group (after England), which was enough to earn them their first ever qualification for a major tournament. At the European championship Belgium secured a 2–0 upset win over Norway during the group stage. However, after losing 1–0 to Denmark and 2–1 to the Netherlands, they finished third in their group and did not advance to the knockout rounds.

First success (2019–present)

Belgium performed well in UEFA World Cup Qualifying for the 2019 World Cup and secured second place in Group 6 behind Italy. As a result, they qualified for the UEFA Play-offs as they were one of the top 4 ranked second place teams. Switzerland, the Netherlands and Denmark were the other teams in the play-off. Belgium faced Switzerland in their play-off semi-final, after two legs the aggregate score was 3–3, but Switzerland advanced on away goals. The Netherlands went on to defeat Switzerland in the play-off final to claim the final UEFA qualifying spot at the 2019 World Cup.[4]
In 2019, Belgium also finished third during the 2019 Cyprus cup after defeating Austria on penalties.[5]

In 2022, Belgium won the Pinatar Cup, a friendly tournament held in Spain, beating Russia on penalties.[6] Euro 2022 was a success for Belgium, who managed to get out of the first round and reach the quarter-finals for the first time in their second appearance at the continental finals. The Red Flames finished 2nd in Group D behind France, the group's favorite against whom they conceded a narrow defeat (1–2), but ahead of Iceland and Italy after a 1–1 draw against the former and a 1–0 victory against the latter (an outgoing quarter-finalists of the 2019 World Cup), in the last match. All this combined with the lack of a victory for the Icelandic women against the French, who were already assured a finish in first place of the group, in the other match (1–1). This historic qualification was made possible in part by the performance of Belgian goalkeeper Nicky Evrard, who saved two penalties in each of the first two games (against Iceland and France). Belgium faced Sweden in the quarter-finals, the winner of group C and silver medalist at the Olympic games in Tokyo.[7] The Belgians lost by a score of 0–1 at the end of the match and saw their journey end at this stage of the competition.[8]

Team image

Nicknames

At the start of the qualifying campaign for the 2015 World Cup in Canada, the team earned their first and current nickname: the "Belgian Red Flames".[2] Prior to that, they were simply known as "Rode Duivelinnen" (Red Devil Ladies).[9]

Kits and crest

On September 19, 2022 the RBFA presented new home kits. This was the first time that a unified look was presented for all Belgian national teams. It replaces the one-off black home shirt which was released earlier in support of women's football in Belgium.[10]
The kit comes with a red base, and black and yellow details representing the Belgian flag. The jersey features a dynamic graphic print of flames on both sleeves, hinting at the team's nickname "Red Flames".

Kit suppliers

Adidas Period Ref
Red Flames kit 2022
Home kit 2022
 2022-present [10]
Red Flames kit 2021
Home kit 2021
 2021-2022 [10]

Home stadium

The team plays their home matches mostly at Den Dreef but occasionally at other stadiums in Belgium.

Results and fixtures

The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

Legend

  Win   Draw   Lose   Fixture

2023

16 February 2023 (2023-02-16) 2023 Arnold Clark Cup Italy  1–2  Belgium Milton Keynes, England
Giugliano 64' Report
Stadium: Stadium MK
19 February 2023 (2023-02-19) 2023 Arnold Clark Cup Belgium  2–1  South Korea Coventry, England
Stadium: Coventry Building Society Arena
Referee: Frida Nielsen (Denmark)
22 February 2023 (2023-02-22) 2023 Arnold Clark Cup England  6–1  Belgium Bristol, England
 Report
Stadium: Ashton Gate Stadium
Attendance: 26,169
Referee: Jelena Cvetković (Serbia)
7 April Friendly Austria  3–2  Belgium Wiener Neustadt, Austria
20:30 Stadium: Stadion Wiener Neustadt
11 April Friendly Belgium  2–2  Slovenia
2 July Friendly Netherlands  5–0  Belgium Kerkrade, Netherlands
20:45
Stadium: Parkstad Limburg Stadion
22 September 2023–24 UEFA Women's Nations League A Belgium  2–1  Netherlands Leuven
20:30
Report
Stadium: Den Dreef,
Referee: Frida Klarlund (Denmark)
26 September 2023–24 UEFA Women's Nations League A Scotland  1–1  Belgium Glasgow
20:45 (19:45 BST)
Report
Stadium: Hampden Park,
Referee: Eleni Antoniou (Greece)
27 October 2023–24 UEFA Nations League England  1–0  Belgium Leicester, England
19:45
Report Stadium: King Power Stadium
Attendance: 28,321
Referee: Lina Lehtovaara (Finland)
1 December 2023–24 UEFA Women's Nations League A Belgium  1–1  Scotland Leuven
 Report
Stadium: Den Dreef
Attendance: 4,730
Referee: Olatz Rivera Olmedo (Spain)

Coaching staff

Current coaching staff

As of 28 September 2022[11]
Role Name
Head coach Belgium Ives Serneels
Assistant coach Belgium Kris Van Der Haegen
Goalkeeping coach Belgium Jan Van Steenberghe[12]
Performance analyst Belgium Niels Leroy
Belgium Hanne Nielandt
Belgium Arne Jaspers
Nutritionist Belgium Gino Devriendt
Mental coach Belgium Steffi Van Ranst
Team doctor Belgium Karolien Lemmens
Belgium Kris Vanderlinden
Physiotherapist Belgium Fabienne Van De Steene
Belgium Jan Van der Jeugt
Manager women's football Belgium Katrien Jans

Manager history

Players

Current squad

The following players were named for the 2023–24 UEFA Women's Nations League matches against Scotland and Netherlands on 1 and 5 December 2023, respectively .[13]

As of 22 February 2023
No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
12 1GK Diede Lemey (1996-10-07) 7 October 1996 7 0 Netherlands Fortuna Sittard
1GK Lisa Lichtfus (1999-12-29) 29 December 1999 0 0 France Dijon
1 1GK Nicky Evrard (1995-05-26) 26 May 1995 59 0 England Brighton & Hove Albion
2 2DF Davina Philtjens (1989-02-26) 26 February 1989 115 10 Italy Sassuolo
2DF Shari Van Belle
22 2DF Laura Deloose (1993-06-19) 19 June 1993 74 4 Belgium Anderlecht
2DF Amber Tysiak (2000-01-26) 26 January 2000 20 5 England West Ham United
15 2DF Jody Vangheluwe (1997-07-15) 15 July 1997 14 0 Belgium Club YLA
2DF Isabelle Iliano
19 2DF Sari Kees (2001-02-17) 17 February 2001 15 2 Belgium OH Leuven
23 3MF Kassandra Missipo (1998-02-03) 3 February 1998 45 0 Switzerland FC Basel
8 3MF Féli Delacauw (2002-04-04) 4 April 2002 13 0 Netherlands Fortuna Sittard
16 3MF Marie Detruyer (2004-01-13) 13 January 2004 2 0 Belgium OH Leuven
10 3MF Justine Vanhaevermaet (1992-04-29) 29 April 1992 42 6 England Everton
14 4FW Jassina Blom (1994-09-03) 3 September 1994 20 8 Spain UDG Tenerife
11 4FW Janice Cayman (1988-10-12) 12 October 1988 132 48 England Leicester
4FW Yana Daniels
6 4FW Tine De Caigny (1997-06-09) 9 June 1997 81 39 Germany TSG 1899 Hoffenheim
25 4FW Welma Fon (2002-06-01) 1 June 2002 1 0 Belgium Standard Liège
5 4FW Sarah Wijnants (1999-10-13) 13 October 1999 26 2 Belgium Anderlecht
17 4FW Jill Janssens (2003-10-03) 3 October 2003 11 0 Belgium OH Leuven
9 4FW Tessa Wullaert (1993-03-19) 19 March 1993 117 71 Netherlands Fortuna Sittard
Amy Littel
Notes
  • INJ = Withdrew due to injury

Recent call-ups

The following players have been called up in the past 12 months.

Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up
GK Femke Bastiaen (2001-04-11) 11 April 2001 0 0 Netherlands PSV 2023 Arnold Clark Cup
DF Charlotte Tison (1998-04-21) 21 April 1998 13 0 Belgium Anderlecht v.  Armenia, 6 September 2022
DF Michelle Colson (1998-09-19) 19 September 1998 1 0 Belgium Anderlecht 2023 Arnold Clark Cup
DF Fran Meersman (2002-10-15) 15 October 2002 3 0 Belgium KAA Gent 2023 Arnold Clark Cup
DF Laura De Neve (1994-10-09) 9 October 1994 59 2 Belgium Anderlecht v.  England, 31 October 2023
DF Constance Brackman v.  England, 31 October 2023
MF Marie Minnaert (1999-05-05) 5 May 1999 31 3 Belgium Anderlecht v.  Portugal, 6 October 2022
MF Valesca Ampoorter (2004-03-05) 5 March 2004 1 0 Belgium OH Leuven 2023 Arnold Clark Cup
MF Julie Biesmans (1994-05-04) 4 May 1994 100 3 Netherlands PSV 2023 Arnold Clark Cup
MF Chloe Vande Velde (1997-06-06) 6 June 1997 26 2 Netherlands ADO Den Haag v.  Scotland, 26 September 2023
MF Jarne Teulings v.  Scotland, 26 September 2023
FW Davinia Vanmechelen (1999-08-30) 30 August 1999 50 10 Belgium Club YLA v.  Portugal, 6 October 2022
FW Elena Dhont (1998-03-27) 27 March 1998 30 3 Netherlands FC Twente 2023 Arnold Clark Cup
FW Ella Van Kerkhoven (1993-11-20) 20 November 1993 23 13 Belgium OH Leuven 2023 Arnold Clark Cup
FW Hannah Eurlings (2003-01-01) 1 January 2003 24 6 Belgium OH Leuven v.  Scotland, 26 September 2023
Notes
  • RET = Retired from the national team
  • PRE = Preliminary squad

Individual records

As of match played on 6 October 2022
Players in bold are still active.
Janice Cayman
Janice Cayman
Tessa Wullaert
Tessa Wullaert
Most appearances
Rank Name Caps Goals Career
1Janice Cayman131482007–present
2Tessa Wullaert116692011–present
3Davina Philtjens115102008–present
4Aline Zeler111292005–2019
5Julie Biesmans9932011–present
6Heleen Jaques9732007–2020
7Maud Coutereels9092004–present
8Femke Maes85251996–2009
9Tine De Caigny80382014–present
10Laura Deloose7442015–present
Top goalscorers
Rank Name Goals Caps Ratio Career
1Tessa Wullaert691160.592011–present
2Janice Cayman481310.372007–present
3Tine De Caigny38800.482014–present
4Aline Zeler291110.262009–2019
5Femke Maes25850.291996–2009
6Kristel Verelst18460.391998–2009
7Myriam Vanslembrouck16210.761992–1996
8Christine Saelens13410.321993–2003
9Cecile Carnol12370.321996–2003
Ella Van Kerkhoven220.552013–present
10Marina Verdonck10530.191976–1990
Davina Philtjens1150.092008–present
Davinia Vanmechelen500.22016–present

Competitive record

Belgium has not yet featured at the World Cup, but has reached the end stage of the Euro 2017 tournament. Their best qualification rounds before that were for 2003 World Cup, 2013 Euro and 2015 World Cup.

FIFA Women's World Cup

FIFA Women's World Cup record Qualification record
Year Round Position Pld W D* L GF GA Pld W D L GF GA
China 1991 Did not qualify 6 1 0 5 1 12
Sweden 1995 6 2 1 3 15 13
United States 1999 8 0 1 7 6 23
United States 2003 6 5 0 1 13 9
China 2007 8 0 0 8 8 25
Germany 2011 8 3 1 4 18 13
Canada 2015 10 6 1 3 34 11
France 2019 8 4 2 1 11 8
AustraliaNew Zealand 2023 11 7 1 2 56 7
2027 To be determined To Be Determined
Total – – – – – – – – 71 28 7 34 162 121
* Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

UEFA Women's Championship

UEFA Women's Championship record Qualification record
Year Round Position Pld W D* L GF GA Pld W D L GF GA
Denmark England Italy Sweden 1984 Did not qualify 6 1 3 2 7 12
Norway 1987 6 1 0 5 6 17
West Germany 1989 8 2 4 2 7 4
Denmark 1991 6 1 0 5 1 12
Italy 1993 4 1 2 1 1 8
England Germany Norway Sweden 1995 6 2 1 3 15 13
Norway Sweden 1997 Belgium and 17 other nations were not part of a proper qualification group
Germany 2001 Belgium and 16 other nations were not part of a proper qualification group
England 2005 8 1 0 7 5 39
Finland 2009 8 3 1 4 7 15
Sweden 2013 10 6 2 2 18 8
Netherlands 2017 Group stage 10th 3 1 0 2 3 3 8 5 2 1 27 5
England 2022 Quarter-finals 8th 4 1 1 2 3 4 8 7 0 1 37 5
Switzerland 2025 To be determined To be determined
Total Quarter-finals 2/13 7 2 1 4 6 7 78 30 15 33 131 138
* Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

Algarve Cup

Belgium was invited to play at the 2016 Algarve Cup in Portugal and ended fifth out of eight teams. The teams were divided into two groups; after the group stage, placement matches were played among the equally ranked teams from both groups. Belgium ended third in Group A, and won the placement match against Russia (third place in Group B) with 5–0.[14]

Cyprus Cup

Belgium has been invited to the Cyprus Cup four times, as of 2019. Their first appearance was in 2015. They were sorted into group C that year, with Mexico, Czech Republic and South Africa, and ended last in the group. They also lost the placement match (after penalties) against South Korea, resulting in the last place of all 12 teams. In 2017 Belgium finished third in Group A with Switzerland, North Korea and Italy, and eventually reached seventh place out of 12 after winning the placement match against Austria.[15]

Belgium was also invited to play the tournament in 2018, in a group with Austria, Czech Republic and Spain. They ended second in the group behind eventual winner Spain, and fifth overall (out of 12) after winning the placement match against South Africa. Belgium returned to the Cyprus Cup in 2019. They were in Group C with Austria, Slovakia and Nigeria.[5] Belgium finished in third place after defeating Austria on penalties in the third place match.

Pinatar Cup

Belgium were crowned Pinatar Cup champions in 2022. Belgium beat Russia in the final after taking the game to penalties.[16]

FIFA world rankings

As of 5 August 2022[17][18]

  Worst Ranking    Best Ranking    Worst Mover    Best Mover  

Belgium's FIFA world rankings
Rank Year GP W D L Best Worst
Rank Move Rank Move
28201510433 27Steady 028Decrease 1
25201613814 25Increase 228Steady 0
22201717836 22Increase 223Decrease 1
21201811542 21Increase 223Decrease 1
172019141031 17Increase 120Increase 1
1720207412 17Steady 017Steady 0
20202112615 18Steady 020Decrease 1
19202215915 19Increase 120Increase 1

Head-to-head record

The following table shows Belgium's all-time international record.

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD WPCT
 Albania 4 4 0 0 20 0 +20 100.00
 Armenia 2 2 0 0 26 0 +26 100.00
 Australia 1 1 0 0 1 0 +1 100.00
 Austria 11 7 2 2 19 8 +11 63.64
 Azerbaijan 2 1 1 0 11 0 +11 50.00
 Bosnia and Herzegovina 2 2 0 0 11 0 +11 100.00
 Bulgaria 4 3 1 0 11 0 +11 75.00
 Canada 1 0 0 1 0 1 −1 0.00
 Czech Republic 4 1 1 2 5 8 −3 25.00
 North Korea 4 1 1 2 5 8 −3 25.00
 Denmark 12 1 1 10 7 35 −28 8.33
 Netherlands per Nov.1 - 2023 33 5 5 23 31 93 −62 15.15
Total 80 28 12 40 147 153 −6 35.00
Updated to match(es) played on 28-09-2022. Source: [19]

Honours

Regional

3rd: 2019
Champions: 2022

See also

References

  1. ↑ "The FIFA/Coca-Cola Women's World Ranking". FIFA. 15 December 2023. Retrieved 15 December 2023.
  2. 1 2 Van Lindt, Aernout (20 Sep 2013). "Belgian Red Flames: eerst de naam, dan de hype?" (in Dutch). Vrouwenvoetbalkrant. Retrieved 5 Mar 2016.
  3. ↑ "Belgians invest in women's game from grassroots up, targeting EURO2017". insideworldfootball.com. 12 January 2015. Archived from the original on 27 May 2015. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
  4. ↑ "Women's World Cup play-off draw on Friday". Retrieved September 6, 2018.
  5. 1 2 "Cyprus Women's Cup 2019". Cyprus Women's Cup. Retrieved 17 Feb 2019.
  6. ↑ (in French) Les Red Flames remportent la Pinatar Cup face à la Russie, le tout premier trophée de leur histoire
  7. ↑ (in French) Euro féminin : qualifiées pour les quarts, les Red Flames ont déjà tout gagné
  8. ↑ (in French) Euro féminin - Suède-Belgique : Les Red Flames éliminées en quart de finale dans les toutes dernières secondes
  9. ↑ "Rode Duivelinnen heten voortaan Belgian Red Flames". Het Nieuwsblad (in Flemish). 16 September 2013. Retrieved 2022-09-28.
  10. 1 2 3 "RBFA new kits". www.rbfa.be. Retrieved 2022-09-28.
  11. ↑ "RBFA coaching staff". www.rbfa.be. Retrieved 2022-09-28.
  12. ↑ "RBFA new goalkeeper Red Flames". www.rbfa.be. Retrieved 2022-09-28.
  13. ↑ "RED FLAMES SQUAD". twitter.
  14. ↑ "Fixtures and Results – Algarve Cup". FPF. Archived from the original on 7 March 2016. Retrieved 9 March 2016.
  15. ↑ "Red Flames zevende in Cypriotisch oefentoernooi na zege tegen Oostenrijk" (in Dutch). De Standaard. 8 Mar 2017. Retrieved 8 Mar 2017.
  16. ↑ Nowakowski, Wojciech (2022-02-25). "Pinatar Cup 2022: Belgium crowned champions, Poland in harsh regress". Her Football Hub. Retrieved 2022-02-25.
  17. ↑ "FIFA Women's Ranking". fifa.com. Retrieved 2022-09-21.
  18. ↑ "RBFA All Red Flames games". www.rbfa.be. Retrieved 2022-09-21.
  19. ↑ "RBFA all matches". www.rbfa.be. Retrieved 2022-09-28.
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