Belgium women's national football team

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 its 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.

Belgium

Nickname(s)	Belgian Red Flames
Association	Royal Belgian Football Association (KBVB/URBSFA)
Confederation	UEFA (Europe)
Head coach	Ives Serneels
Captain	Tessa Wullaert
Most caps	Aline Zeler (111)
Top scorer	Tessa Wullaert (50)
Home stadium	Den Dreef (Leuven)
FIFA code	BEL
First colours Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current	17 (18 December 2020)[1]
Highest	17 (December 2019)
Lowest	35 (November 2010, March 2011)
First international
France 1–2 Belgium  (Reims, France; 30 May 1976)
Biggest win
Belgium 12–0 Moldova  (Leuven, Belgium; 19 September 2017)
Biggest defeat
Spain 9–1 Belgium  (Alginet, Spain; 29 February 2004)
European Championship
Appearances	1 (first in 2017)
Best result	Group Stage (2017)

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. They played the same teams again the next year, this time beating both with 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 untill 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–present)

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 Euro 2017 Belgium secured a 2–0 upset win over Norway during 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 round.

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]

Home stadium

The Belgium women's national team plays their home matches on the Den Dreef.

Coaching staff

Manager	Ives Serneels
Assistant manager	Tamara Cassimon
Goalkeeping coach	Sven Cnudde
Fitness coach	Cédric Lehance
Physiotherapist	Fabienne Van De Steene

Players

Caps and goals may be incorrect.

Current squad

The following 21 players were named to the squad for the UEFA Women's Euro 2021 qualifier against Switzerland on 1 December 2020.[5]

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
1	GK	Justien Odeurs	13 May 1997	36	0	Anderlecht
12	GK	Lisa Lichtfus	29 December 1999	0	0	Standard Liège
21	GK	Nicky Evrard	26 May 1995	37	0	Gent
2	DF	Davina Philtjens	26 February 1989	78	8	Sassuolo
4	DF	Heleen Jaques	20 April 1988	96	3	Gent
17	DF	Isabelle Iliano	2 March 1997	1	0	Club Brugge
18	DF	Laura De Neve	9 October 1994	31	1	Anderlecht
20	DF	Julie Biesmans	4 May 1994	64	3	PSV
22	DF	Laura Deloose	19 June 1993	40	3	Anderlecht
5	MF	Jarne Teulings	11 January 2002	0	0	Anderlecht
8	MF	Lenie Onzia	30 May 1989	45	4	Gent
10	MF	Justine Vanhaevermaet	29 April 1992	10	0	LSK Kvinner
16	MF	Marie Minnaert	5 May 1999	7	0	Club Brugge
15	MF	Charlotte Tison	21 April 1998	6	0	Anderlecht
23	MF	Kassandra Missipo	3 February 1998	28	0	Anderlecht
3	FW	Lola Wajnblum	22 January 1996	6	0	Standard Liège
6	FW	Tine De Caigny	9 June 1997	56	23	Anderlecht
7	FW	Sarah Wijnants	13 October 1999	9	0	Anderlecht
9	FW	Tessa Wullaert	19 March 1993	93	49	Anderlecht
11	FW	Janice Cayman	12 October 1988	106	39	Lyon
13	FW	Hannah Eurlings	1 January 2003	0	0	OH Leuven
14	FW	Davinia Vanmechelen	30 August 1999	27	6	Standard Liège
19	FW	Chloe Velde	6 June 1997	14	2	Gent

Recent call-ups

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

This list may be incomplete.

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club	Latest call-up
GK	Diede Lemey	7 October 1996	4	0	Sassuolo	v.  Lithuania, 27 October 2020
DF	Maud Coutereels	21 May 1986	90	9	Standard Liège	v.  Lithuania, 27 October 2020
DF	Shari Van Belle	22 December 1999	8	0	Gent	2020 Algarve Cup
DF	Jody Vangheluwe	15 July 1997	2	0	Club Brugge	2020 Algarve Cup ^PRE
MF	Zandy Soree	1 August 1998	2	0	Orlando Pride	2020 Algarve Cup
FW	Elena Dhont	27 March 1998	14	2	Twente	v.  Lithuania, 27 October 2020
FW	Lisa Petry	12 February 2001	1	0	Standard Liège	2020 Algarve Cup
FW	Ella Van Kerkhoven	20 November 1993	10	5	Inter Milan	2020 Algarve Cup ^PRE

Individual records

As of 1 December 2020

Most capped players # Player Year(s) Caps 1 Aline Zeler 2005–2019 111 2 Janice Cayman 2007– 107 3 Heleen Jaques 2007– 97 4 Tessa Wullaert 2011– 94 5 Davina Philtjens 2008– 93 6 Maud Coutereels 2004– 90 7 Femke Maes 1996–2009 85 8 Nadia Dermul 1990–2007 59 9 Dorine Delombaerde 1983–1996 60 9 Wendy Migom 1995–2005 60 Aline Zeler

Top goalscorers # Player Year(s) Goals Caps 1 Tessa Wullaert 2011– 50 94 2 Janice Cayman 2007– 40 107 3 Aline Zeler 2009–2019 29 111 4 Femke Maes 1996–2009 26 86 5 Tine De Caigny 2014– 25 57 6 Kristel Verelst 1998–2009 18 46 7 Myriam Vanslembrouck 1992–1996 16 21 8 Christine Saelens 1993–2003 13 41 9 Cecile Carnol 1996–2003 12 37 10 Carine Maus 1987–1998 9 36 10 Lien Mermans 2009– 9 48 Tessa Wullaert

Team records

As of 12 July 2019:

• Belgium's biggest win is 12–0, achieved against Moldova on 19 September 2017.
• Belgium's highest FIFA rank has been 19 (in July 2019).

Recent 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.

  Win   Draw   Lose   Fixtures

2020

4 March 2020 2020 Algarve Cup	New Zealand	1–1 (7–6 p)	Belgium	Parchal, Portugal
18:00	Chance  37'	Report	Velde  89'	Stadium: Bela Vista Municipal Stadium
	Penalties
	Bowen Gregorius Stott White Moore Bott Longo Cleverley		De Caigny Vanhaevermaet Cayman Evrard Wullaert Deloose De Neve Wijnants

7 March 2020 2020 Algarve Cup	Portugal	0–1	Belgium	Parchal, Portugal
17:00		Report	De Caigny  65'	Stadium: Bela Vista Municipal Stadium

10 March 2020 2020 Algarve Cup	Belgium	0–4	Denmark	Lagos, Portugal
7:30			Harder  6' Thomsen  13' Christiansen  40' Pedersen  47'	Stadium: Lagos Municipal Stadium

26 October 2020 UEFA Women's Euro 2021 qualifying	Lithuania	0–9	Belgium	Marijampolė, Lithuania
		Report	Wullaert  12', 69', 82' Liužinaitė  14' (o.g.) Gedgaudaitė  21' (o.g.) De Caigny  30', 40', 56' Minnaert  84'	Stadium: Sūduva Stadium Referee: Lina Lehtovaara (Finland)

1 December 2020 UEFA Women's Euro 2021 qualifying	Belgium	4–0	Switzerland	Leuven, Belgium
	De Caigny  31', 45+7' Wullaert  73' Cayman  85'	Report		Stadium: Den Dreef Stadium Attendance: 0 Referee: Anastasia Pustovoitova

Euro 2021

Belgium has been sorted into Group H for the Euro 2021 qualifiers. Matches started in August 2019.

Achievements

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.

World Cup record

FIFA Women's World Cup record										Qualification record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA		Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1991	Did not qualify									6	1	0	5	1	12
1995										6	2	1	3	15	13
1999										8	0	1	7	6	23
2003										6	5	0	1	13	9
2007										8	0	0	8	8	25
2011										8	3	1	4	18	13
2015										10	6	1	3	34	11
2019										8	4	2	1	11	8
2023	To Be Determined								To Be Determined
Total	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	60	21	6	32	106	114
* Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

UEFA Women's Championship record

UEFA Women's Championship record										Qualification record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA		Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
1984	Did not qualify									6	1	3	2	7	12
1987										6	1	0	5	6	17
1989										8	2	4	2	7	4
1991										6	1	0	5	1	12
1993										4	1	2	1	1	8
1995										6	2	1	3	15	13
1997										Belgium and 17 other nations were not part of a proper qualification group
2001										Belgium and 16 other nations were not part of a proper qualification group
2005										8	1	0	7	5	39
2009										8	3	1	4	7	15
2013										10	6	2	2	18	8
2017	Group stage	10th	3	1	0	2	3	3		8	5	2	1	27	5
2021	Qualified									8	7	0	1	37	5
Total	–	1/12	3	1	0	2	3	3		78	33	15	33	131	138
* Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

Algarve Cup record

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.[6]

Cyprus Cup record

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.[7]

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.[8] Belgium finished in third place after defeating Austria on penalties in the third place match.

See also

Belgium women's national teams

• Footballers
• Football team
• Results
• Under-20 football team
• Under-17 football team
• Futsal team

References

1. "The FIFA/Coca-Cola Women's World Ranking". FIFA. 18 December 2020. Retrieved 18 December 2020.
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.
4. "Women's World Cup play-off draw on Friday". Retrieved September 6, 2018.
5. "Red Flames squad". Royal Belgian Football Association. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
6. "Fixtures and Results – Algarve Cup". FPF. Archived from the original on 7 March 2016. Retrieved 9 March 2016.
7. "Red Flames zevende in Cypriotisch oefentoernooi na zege tegen Oostenrijk" (in Dutch). De Standaard. 8 Mar 2017. Retrieved 8 Mar 2017.
8. "Cyprus Women's Cup 2019". Cyprus Women's Cup. Retrieved 17 Feb 2019.

External links

• Official website
• FIFA profile
• List of international players, belgianfootball.be