Belgium played its first official game on May 1, 1904 in a 3–3 draw against France. Prior to this match, a Belgian selection played several matches, but the squad contained some English players, so these are not added to the caps. For example, Belgium beat Netherlands by 8–0 on April 28, 1901 with the help of some Englishmen. It was then decided that Belgium would play twice a year against Netherlands beginning from 1905, generally once in Antwerp and once in Rotterdam (later Amsterdam). At that time, the national squad was chosen by a committee of representatives of the 6 or 7 main clubs.
The team was nicknamed The Red Devils by journalist Pierre Walckiers after its 3:2 victory over Netherlands (Rotterdam, 1906). The nickname stems from the fact that from the beginning and up until recently, the team's primary colours were all red.
Over the next six decades, Belgium established itself as a strong second-tier team, rarely in the running for winning a major tournament but never easy to handle at home or abroad. A key strength of the team was its systematic use of the offside trap, a defensive tactic developed in the 1960s at Anderlecht under French coach Pierre Sinibaldi.
Their most successful period started when they finished second in the UEFA Euro 1980. The 1980s and early 1990s are generally considered the golden age of the national team. Under the lead of Guy Thys, who coached more than 100 official games, Belgium established a reputation of being a physical, well-organized team that was difficult to play against. The team's rigorous organization was reinforced by several world-class players such as goalkeeper Jean-Marie Pfaff, right-back Eric Gerets, midfielder Jan Ceulemans, playmaker Enzo Scifo and striker Luc Nilis. Performances were sometimes poor against lower-ranked teams, but nearly always inspired against top teams. Until as recently as 2002, world-class national teams did not like the prospect of playing the Red Devils. The Belgians could have beaten favourites Brazil in the 2002 FIFA World Cup if not for a controversially disallowed goal, a decision which surprised the Brazilians themselves. Brazil went on to win the World Cup. Since then, however, the team has steadily slipped down the rankings, and has not been able to extend its past reputation.
After failing to qualify for the FIFA World Cup for the first time since 1978, the contract of national coach Aimé Anthuenis was not renewed beyond 2005, and it was decided on December 22, 2005 that René Vandereycken would replace Anthuenis on January 1, 2006. But the performances of the team did not improve and the Red Devils slipped into an all-time low 71st position in the FIFA World Rankings in June, 2007. After failing to qualify for Euro 2008 and a generally poor performance in the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifiers which ended with Belgium getting knocked out, coach René Vandereycken was sacked on the 7 April 2009. After a shocking 2–1 loss against Armenia on 9 September 2009, Vercauteren resigned earlier than planned and made way for new coach Dick Advocaat. However, on 15 April 2010, after only six months at the helm, Advocaat resigned as manager of the Belgian national team amid speculation that he was to become coach of the Russian national team. The rumors proved to be true, as Advocaat was named the new manager of the Russian national team on May 17, 2010.Georges Leekens was announced as the next manager of the Belgian national team on 11 May 2010, signing a contract until 2012. This is Leekens' second stint as national manager, having previously managed the Red Devils from 1997 to 1999. Though the future looks bright for the Red Devils as a new golden generation is coming to age with likes of Simon Mignolet, Thibaut Courtois, Vincent Kompany, Thomas Vermaelen, Jan Vertonghen, Marouane Fellaini, Steven Defour, Axel Witsel, Kevin De Bruyne, Eden Hazard, Moussa Dembélé, Dries Mertens and Romelu Lukaku.
World Cup record
Belgium qualified for six successive World Cups from 1982 through 2002.
The Belgian team reached the knockout phase five out of six times from 1982 to 2002, including a streak of four tournaments. One of their most famous victories was a 1–0 win over defending champions Argentina, in the first game of the 1982 World Cup held at Camp Nou with a goal by Erwin Vandenbergh.
Four years later they achieved their best-ever World Cup run in 1986 when they placed fourth under command of players like Jan Ceulemans, Eric Gerets and Jean-Marie Pfaff. Belgium surprisingly won against favourites Soviet-Union with stars such as Igor Belanov and Rinat Dasayev (3–4) after extra time. Belgium also beat Spain on penalties, but they lost to eventual champions Argentina in the semifinal (0–2). In the third-place match Belgium lost to France (2–4) after extra time. Captain and midfielder Jan Ceulemans was the first Belgian player to be selected in the All-Star Team of a World Cup. Enzo Scifo was elected as best young player of the tournament.
Despite being knocked out in the second round, the team's general performance in the 1990 was considered better still than that of 1986. Belgium did well against England, but eventually lost in the last minute of extra time after a goal by David Platt. Enzo Scifo was elected as second best player of the 1990 World Cup after Lothar Matthäus.
In the 1994 World Cup Belgium lost to title defenders Germany in round 2. This match became most memorable because of a disputed decision by refereeKurt Röthlisberger. The team was not awarded a penalty when Josip Weber was tripped inside the penalty area. Michel Preud'homme was elected as best goalkeeper of the tournament and he was selected in the All-Star Team.
In 1998 Belgium was one of only two teams, together with world champion France not to lose a single game. Three draws in the first round – against Netherlands, Mexico and South Korea – proved not enough to reach the knock-out stage. In 1998 Enzo Scifo and Franky Van Der Elst appeared in their fourth World Cups, setting a Belgian record.
The FIFA World Cup 2002 did not start well for Belgium, but the team improved during the tournament. Captain Marc Wilmots was notable for scoring in every match of the first round. In the second round they had to play against eventual champions Brazil. Similar to 1994, the outcome of the match was strongly influenced by a disputed referee decision. To the surprise of the Brazilians themselves, referee Peter Prendergast cancelled a valid goal by Marc Wilmots that would have given Belgium a 1–0 lead. After this, the match went in favour of Brazil. Even Brazilian coach Luiz Felipe Scolari declared after the tournament that the match against the Red Devils had been the hardest for Brazil to win. The team did win the tournament's fair-play award. Marc Wilmots equalled the record of Enzo Scifo and Franky Van Der Elst by appearing in 4 World Cup squads, although he didn't play in his first World Cup in 1990. Wilmots also scored his 5th World Cup goal against Russia, which made him Belgium's top scorer in World Cup Finals matches.
Belgium's performance in the European Championship does not match its World Cup record. The best result is no doubt the unexpected second place at the 1980 edition in Italy after a narrow defeat (1–2) to West Germany in the final. Belgium hosted or co-hosted the event twice, finishing third in 1972 (when they were chosen amongst the four semi-finalists to actually host the event) and being one of the major disappointments of the 2000 edition with a first-round exit. Belgium first won against Sweden 2–1 via goals from Bart Goor in the 43rd minute and Emile Mpenza in the 46th minute against Sweden's one by Johan Mjallby in the 53rd minute after a terrible error of goalkeeper Filip De Wilde. But then, Belgium lost 2–0 against Italy (goals from Francesco Totti in the 5th minute and Stefano Fiore in the 66th minute) and 2–0 against Turkey (two goals from Hakan Şükür in the 45th after another error of goalkeeper Filip De Wilde, and 70th minute). In the 83rd minute of that last group match, Filip De Wilde even ended his Euro 2000, being sent off for attacking Arif Erdem outside the penalty area.
Belgium 3–3 France 
England Amateurs 11–2 Belgium 
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2010
1976
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Benfica
Olympiacos
Zenit St. Petersburg
Romania, 11 November 2011
Slovenia, 10 August 2011
Kazakhstan, 7 October 2011
Azerbaijan, 29 March 2011
