Belgium were one of the 13 teams in the inaugural World Cup in 1930. One of Belgium's best results were finishing in fourth place in 1986.

In 2018, Belgium outclassed England in the third-place play-off to clinch their best-ever World Cup finish.

Belgium again qualified for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, though had a disappointing campaign. They progress past the group stage with just one win, a draw and a loss.

Belgium have made 15 total appearances at the FIFA World Cup - 1930, 1934, 1938, 1954, 1970, 1982, 1986, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2014, 2018, 2022, and 2026.

1930

Belgium didn't make it out of the group stage at the 1930 FIFA World Cup.

1934

Belgium lost 2-5 to Germany in the first round of the 1934 FIFA World Cup. As a result, the team didn't proceed to the next round of the competition.

1938

Belgium lost 1-3 to France in the first round of the 1938 FIFA World Cup. As a result, the team didn't proceed to the next round of the competition.

1954

Belgium didn't qualify from Group 4 at the 1954 FIFA World Cup.

1970

Belgium didn't make it out of Group 1 at the 1970 FIFA World Cup.

1982

Belgium finished top of Group 3 at the 1982 FIFA World Cup and progressed to the next stage of the competition.

1986

Belgium reached the Semi-finals of the 1986 FIFA World Cup, but lost 0-2 to Argentina in the match. They also lost their Third-place final match against France.

1990

Belgium made it out of Group E at the 1990 FIFA World Cup. They lost to England in the Round of 16 of the competition.

1994

Belgium qualified from Group F with 6 points, alongside Saudi Arabia and the Netherlands at the 1994 FIFA World Cup. The team lost 2-3 to Germany in the Round of 16 of the competition.

1998

Belgium didn't make it out of Group E at the 1998 FIFA World Cup.

2002

Belgium made it out of Group H with 5 points at the 2002 FIFA World Cup. However, the team lost 0-2 to Brazil in the Round of 16 of the competition.

2014

Belgium finished first in Group H with 9 points at the 2014 FIFA World Cup. The team progressed to the Round of 16 and won its match against the USA. However, Belgium lost 0-2 to Argentina in the Quarter-finals of the competition.

2018

Belgium reached the Semi-finals of the 2018 FIFA World Cup, but lost 0-1 to France. The team won the third place match of the competition against England.

2022

Belgium didn't qualify out of Group F at the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

2026

Belgium have qualified for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The team is in Group G and will play against Egypt, Iran, and New Zealand for the top spot in the group.

Trivia

  • The inaugural FIFA World Cup final in 1930 was officiated by Belgian referee John Langenus.
  • Belgium goalkeeper Michael Preud'homme abandoned his good luck ritual in USA 94 of wearing a Standard Leige shirt (his first club) under his national jersey because of the heat.
  • A free-kick goal by Belgian Enzo Scifo was disallowed in the group match against Paraguay on 11 June 1986 because it was an indirect free kick. This was not the only time that a player made such a careless mistake in World Cup finals. Experienced Bulgarian player Hristo Stoichkov also had a goal disallowed for the same reason in a 1994 finals match against Nigeria.