Belgian football

Belgium has always been the best of the European middle powers. From time to time they do well, but they have never won a major international tournament. But in recent decades Belgian football has continuously improved, and now they have a team of multiple strong on all positions, and a perhaps the best attacking trio in the game right now.

De Bruyne is the midfield European king of assists, Eden Hazard is possibly the best European number 10, and Romulu Lukaku up front might in time cement himself as the best number 9. On Transfermarkt those 3 are all in the top20 of the highest valued players in the world. Argentina, England and France also have 3 in that top20, but their trios are far from as complementary as the Belgian.

But Belgium is not just those 3, they have maybe not World class players on all positions, but more than good enough, and a bench full of added talent. So much that number 98 of the mentioned Transfermarkt list, Radja Nainggolan, did not make the World Cup squad for tactical reasons.

Often Belgium has been known to have attacking talent, but they also have a core of defensive players, who have all played well over 50 games for the national team, and know each other very well.

Belgium plays 3-4-2-1. This fits the players. They central defenders are good in a 3-back-line, and they are better than their backs, who often suffer from being too attacking. So 3 at the back seems like a perfect solution. One could at times look at the formation and think Belgium has 7 defensive players and 3 attacking, but the way the Belgians play their system, then the 4 join the attack as much as they defend. This means Belgium can push forward very fast with a lot of players, who can pass the ball at a very high technical level. And with the pace of the attacking players, then they have a team, which are by some consider outsiders to winning the World Cup. Belgium har simply never had a better team, and they are not some mixed and match all-star team, these players know each other, and compliment each other extremely well.

Where do the Belgians play?

10 play for the leading Premier League clubs in England (Tottenham 3, Manchester United 2, Manchester City 2, Chelsea 2, and Liverpool 1). And 1 in West Bromwich Albion, who finished last. The top league in the World. De Bruyne, Hazard, and Lukaku are each the star of their team.

Beyond that you have players all over Europe (Germany 3, France 2, Spain 2, Italy 1, and Scotland 1), 2 in China, and 1 playing for Anderlecht, which is the traditionally the best Belgian club. Belgian football used to be a major league in Europe, but with time this has diminished, and today young talent often start in Belgium, but move the the larger European leagues at a very early age.

There are a couple of 32 year olds in the squad, but in general this is a team, which is likely to still be around in 4 years, so this might not even be Belgium at their best yet.

Political influence and national narrative

Belgium is known for its regions, many governments, and complex political system. And also the clear language barrier between Wallonia and Flanders. There has in the past been problems with cliques of French and Dutch speaking players, which has in the past caused trouble building unit cohesion. And as with many other squads you have a significant amount of players with dual citizenship. Actually half of the squad. 5 of these from the former Belgium colony, which today is DR Congo (including Lukaku). As with Switzerland and France, then football is in many ways the great integrator.

A World Cup trophy would do great for building a more unified national narrative across linguistic separation, and might lead to a more unified Belgium. Just as with Spain, Italy, and others, then internal disagreements tend to be dropped, when you can come together over the World Cup. And especially over celebrating a trophy.

Group and expectations

Belgium and England unsurprisingly have demolished Panama and Tunisia. Each of the Europeans have 6 points and are through. The non-Europeans have 0. In a way the last round of group games is more about glory than needed results.

Belgium’s group G is paired with probably the worst group of the tournament, which is H. H’s last games are played before G, so Belgium and England might actually have something to play for, if one of the really want to avoid the group H winners. But as neither should have any trouble against Japan, Senegal, or Colombia if they want to go far, then you might see reserves play a significant part in the Belgium-England game. But on the other hand, then you have teams, which are highly motivated and in good form, who might want to ride of the wave of their momentum. And they are not countries famous for focusing on the tactical aspect above all else, so we might still see an absolute group final, where Lukaku and Kane would want to grab more goals, as they are in contention for the golden boot (topscore’s trophy).

As mentioned, H should not be a problem. But of course any team through form the group at a World Cup should never be underestimated, but I would be shocked if both England and especially Belgium did not make it to the quarterfinals. Interestingly the team to avoid might mostly be Brazil in a quarterfinal, so winning or losing for England and Belgium might be a matter of where Brazil finish in their group. Sweden, Mexico, Switzerland, and Serbia are all seemingly easier quarterfinal opponents.

So if Belgium has the right kind of luck, then they could very easily end up in a semi-final, and there they would either face another surprise, or a under-performing member of the big 8 (Brazil, Argentina, France, Spain – England end up in the other half of the bracket, Germany are out, and Italy and the Netherlands did not qualify). If Belgium and England both keep up their current form, then this last group game could be a rehearsal for the World Cup final. And if one side shows clear weakness, then they are likely not going to have what it take to make it that far.

So expectation are if Belgium can decisively beat England, then they are the team on form, and which has not shown any real weakness at any point. This makes them my favourite to win the World Cup. But only if they can decisively beat the English.

Finishing remarks

This was the final European country at the World Cup, and therefore the final article of this series. Hopefully you have enjoyed them and are enjoying the World Cup.

I must apologies to our Swiss readers for me learning on the job that “Swizz” does not mean something from Switzerland. That is hopefully the only horrible mistake, but otherwise feel free to debate them on My Country? Europe.’s facebook page, where this will be posted. Consider joining our facebook group connected to the page, if you want to get in on the football banter, or like to debate European culture.

Europe do not have (and I my opinion should never have) a singular team at the World Cup. Football is the time to be focused on our member states instead of the European cooperation, it is where we can settle our difference through 11 champions representing us on the pitch (Belgium vs. England might have a bit of a Brussels vs. Brexit narrative for some). Something to guard our national culture, so we with no fear can grow our shared European culture and integrate politically.

If your nation is not playing, then it is a great time to show your Europeanness by supporting your long-term rivals. Denmark was in Euro 1992 carried to victory not just by Danish supporters, but also by the local Swedes, who backed their Scandinavian brothers in their knock-out games. No occasion is better to show brotherly European love, than when historical adversary needs you the most during their World Cup games. No matter if that means Spanish, Portuguese, French, Danish, Croatian, Serbian, Swiss, Swedish, English, or Belgian football finish on top.

Have a great World Cup and Forza Europe!

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A brief history of the Belgian flag

Before the 1830 Belgian revolution and the subsequent establishment of an independent Kingdom, the territories which now compose Belgium passed hands several times. As a result, the official flag of these territories shifted quickly, changing with every ruler. While it was part of Lotharingia, the medieval successor kingdom of the Carolingian Empire, the flag was two horizontal red stripes separated by a white one. When it later passed into Spanish hands, the red cross of Burgundy became a familiar sight together with yellow and red – the official colours of Spain.

When Austria acquired those territories in 1714, it initially tried several different flags. It eventually settled on three red, white and yellow horizontal stripes and a black double-headed eagle as the flag for its occupied territories. The population grew increasingly discontent under this rule, and in 1789 this culminated in an armed rebellion which took the name of Brabant Revolution. This had emerged mainly in opposition to the liberal reforms of Emperor Joseph II, which were perceived as an attack on the Catholic Church and traditional institutions.

Following what France had done during its revolts, the people started wearing red, yellow and black cockades to support the insurrection – the colours being those of the Duchy of Brabant. Its coat of arms was in fact a golden lion with red claws and tongue on a black field. When the revolution culminated in the very brief existence of the United States of Belgium in 1790, its flag consisted of a red, yellow and black horizontal stripe in clear reference to the facts leading up to the formation of this federation.

Unfortunately, that didn’t last and the Austrian rule was re-established before the year was out. The territories that form modern Belgium kept changing ownership, and were ruled in quick succession by the French and then by the United Kingdom of the Netherlands in 1815, changing flags once again. It was under the latter control that another – this time successful – rebellion started and the flag changed for the last time.

The Belgian Revolution and the adoption of the current flag

The regional tensions between the Southern and Northern provinces of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands soon grew too much to bear. In August 1830, these exploded in riots which had their epicentre in Brussels. In remembrance of the old independence fights, the insurgents had hastily made and flown the Brabant Revolt flag from the newly liberated city hall. Contemporarily, Édouard Ducpétiaux and Lucien Jottrand had created a new flag – one which changed the stripes from horizontal to vertical in deference to the French flag which had inspired their own riots. The so-called Belgian Revolution eventually lead to the secession of the Southern states into an independent Kingdom of Belgium.

When the Constitution was ratified, article 193 specified that the official colours of Belgium were to be red, yellow, and black. The horizontal and vertical stripes coexisted for some years, until eventually the vertical stripes prevailed. However, what proved to be more confusing was not the direction of the stripes, but the order of the colours. As scholars have pointed out, it has always been tradition that colours were to be positioned on the flag pole in the same order as they are were presented in the description. Thus, in theory, the flag of Belgium should be red, yellow and black starting from the pole. And yet, to this day, the flag is black at the pole, yellow in the middle, and red at the fly.

Whether this was interpreted wrongly initially and nobody ever noticed, or whether the Constitution was wilfully broken since 1831 is unknown. However, what can be said is that notwithstanding the numerous amendments made to the Constitution, nobody has ever bothered correcting this particular even after all this time. This makes Belgium what is maybe the only country in the world to have a flag which is flagrantly not in line with its own Constitution.

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Belgium has missed only three editions of the contest in total, in 1994, 1997 and 2001, due to low scores in the previous contests.

In the last edition, Belgium placed fourth with the song City Lights of Blanche. This year, the country will be represented by the singer Sennek, the stage name of Laura Groeseneken.

Since 2014 Sennek has performed as the keyboardist for Belgian musician Ozark Henry, and together they have appeared at some of Belgium’s biggest festivals, including Rock Werchter.

A Matter Of Time is the song that will represent the tiny european country. “The song fits me like a glove: the melancholy feeling, the vocals, the contrast between dark and light… I think a song’s message is so important for its potential to reach people” Sennek said.

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