🇧🇪 Belgium
Europe · FIFA BEL
Key Statistics
Editorial Analysis & Historical Context
Rigorous Analysis: Belgium's "Golden Generation" is the greatest marketing campaign in football history. They spent a decade telling everyone how incredibly talented they were, won a single bronze medal, and then aged like a fine glass of warm milk.
Their legacy is a series of dressing room arguments and underperforming on the biggest stages. They are the ultimate proof that having a squad of expensive FIFA cards doesn’t mean you know how to win when the pressure is actually on.
Tournament History
| Year | Host | MP | W | D | L | GF | GA | Pts | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Canada / Mexico / United States | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — |
| 2022 | Qatar | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | — |
| 2018 | Russia | 7 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 16 | 6 | 18 | — |
| 2014 | Brazil | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 3 | 12 | — |
| 2002 | Korea, Japan | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 5 | — |
| 1998 | France | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 3 | — |
| 1994 | United States | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 6 | — |
| 1990 | Italy | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 4 | 6 | — |
| 1986 | Mexico | 7 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 12 | 15 | 10 | — |
| 1982 | Spain | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 7 | — |
| 1970 | Mexico | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 3 | — |
| 1954 | Switzerland | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 8 | 1 | — |
| 1938 | France | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | — |
| 1934 | Italy | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 0 | — |
| 1930 | Uruguay | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — |
| Total | 15 editions | 52 | 22 | 9 | 21 | 70 | 76 | 75 | — |
World Cup Appearances
1930, 1934, 1938, 1954, 1970, 1982, 1986, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2014, 2018, 2022, 2026
Economic & Demographic Football Efficiency
Belgium has a population of 11.7M and an estimated GDP of $489.7B. Bilardo Water normalizes goals, points, and championships against demographic and economic scale to measure true football efficiency beyond raw financial advantage.
Per Capita Rankings
| Metric | Value | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Goals per million people | 5.98 | #6 / 84 |
| Points per million people | 6.40 | #4 / 84 |
| Wins per million people | 1.88 | #4 / 84 |
| Trophies per 10M people | — | #13 / 84 |
Per GDP Rankings
| Metric | Value | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Goals per $1B GDP | 0.14 | #15 / 84 |
| Points per $1B GDP | 0.15 | #10 / 84 |
| Wins per $1B GDP | 0.04 | #11 / 84 |
| Trophies per $10B GDP | — | #13 / 84 |