Belgium women's national football team

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	Janice Cayman (155)
Top scorer	Tessa Wullaert (87)
Home stadium	Den Dreef (Leuven)
FIFA code	BEL
First colours Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current	19 1 (13 December 2024)[1]
Highest	17 (December 2019 – December 2020)
Lowest	35 (November 2010 – July 2011)
First international
France 1–2 Belgium  (Reims, France; 30 May 1976)
Biggest win
Belgium 19–0 Armenia  (Leuven, Belgium; 25 November 2021)
Biggest defeat
Norway 8–0 Belgium  (Kolbotn, Norway; 26 September 1992)  Spain 9–1 Belgium  (Alginet, Spain; 29 February 2004)
European Championship
Appearances	3 (first in 2017)
Best result	Quarter-finals (2022)

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 their 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. In 2022, they won the Pinatar Cup in San Pedro del Pinatar (Spain).

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. The next year, they faced the same opposition once more and won both games by scores of 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.

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.

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 until 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.

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 the European championship Belgium secured a 2–0 upset win over Norway during the 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 rounds.

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]
In 2019, Belgium also finished third during the 2019 Cyprus cup after defeating Austria on penalties.^[5]

In 2022, Belgium won the Pinatar Cup, a friendly tournament held in Spain, beating Russia on penalties.^[6] Euro 2022 was a success for Belgium, who managed to get out of the first round and reach the quarter-finals for the first time in their second appearance at the continental finals. The Red Flames finished 2nd in Group D behind France, the group's favorite against whom they conceded a narrow defeat (1–2), but ahead of Iceland and Italy after a 1–1 draw against the former and a 1–0 victory against the latter (an outgoing quarter-finalists of the 2019 World Cup), in the last match. All this combined with the lack of a victory for the Icelandic women against the French, who were already assured a finish in first place of the group, in the other match (1–1). This historic qualification was made possible in part by the performance of Belgian goalkeeper Nicky Evrard, who saved two penalties in each of the first two games (against Iceland and France). Belgium faced Sweden in the quarter-finals, the winner of group C and silver medalist at the Olympic games in Tokyo.^[7] The Belgians lost by a score of 0–1 at the end of the match and saw their journey end at this stage of the competition.^[8]

At the start of the qualifying campaign for the 2015 World Cup in Canada, the team earned their first and current nickname: the "Belgian Red Flames".^[2] Prior to that, they were simply known as "Rode Duivelinnen" (Red Devil Ladies).^[9]

On September 19, 2022 the RBFA presented new home kits. This was the first time that a unified look was presented for all Belgian national teams. It replaces the one-off black home shirt which was released earlier in support of women's football in Belgium.^[10]
The kit comes with a red base, and black and yellow details representing the Belgian flag. The jersey features a dynamic graphic print of flames on both sleeves, hinting at the team's nickname "Red Flames".

Adidas	Period	Ref
Home kit 2022	2022-present	[10]
Home kit 2021	2021-2022	[10]

The team plays their home matches mostly at Den Dreef but occasionally at other stadiums in Belgium.

The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

Legend

  Win   Draw   Lose   Fixture

As of 28 September 2022^[13]

Role	Name
Head coach	Ives Serneels
Assistant coach	Kris Van Der Haegen
Goalkeeping coach	Jan Van Steenberghe[14]
Performance analyst	Niels Leroy
	Hanne Nielandt
	Arne Jaspers
Nutritionist	Gino Devriendt
Mental coach	Steffi Van Ranst
Team doctor	Karolien Lemmens
	Kris Vanderlinden
Physiotherapist	Fabienne Van De Steene
	Jan Van der Jeugt
Manager women's football	Katrien Jans

• Albert Bers (1976–1991)
• Marc Van Geersom (1991–1994)
• Johan Bol (1994–1999)
• Anne Noë (1999–2010)
• Ives Serneels (2011–)

The following 23 players were called up for the UEFA Women's Euro 2025 qualifying play-off semi-final matches against  Ukraine on 29 November and 3 December 2024 respectively.^[15]

As of the 3 December 2024 match against  Ukraine ^[16][17]

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
1	1GK	Nicky Evrard	(1995-05-26) 26 May 1995 (age 29)	69	0	PSV
12	1GK	Femke Bastiaen	(2001-04-11) 11 April 2001 (age 23)	0	0	Utrecht
21	1GK	Lisa Lichtfus	(1999-12-28) 28 December 1999 (age 24)	13	0	Le Havre
3	2DF	Saar Janssen	(2005-07-22) 22 July 2005 (age 19)	6	0	OH Leuven
4	2DF	Amber Tysiak	(2000-01-26) 26 January 2000 (age 24)	32	5	West Ham United
5	2DF	Isabelle Iliano	(1997-03-02) 2 March 1997 (age 27)	9	0	Club YLA
16	2DF	Zenia Mertens	(2001-02-27) 27 February 2001 (age 23)	4	0	OH Leuven
18	2DF	Laura De Neve	(1994-10-09) 9 October 1994 (age 30)	65	3	Anderlecht
19	2DF	Sari Kees	(2001-02-17) 17 February 2001 (age 23)	34	5	Leicester City
22	2DF	Laura Deloose	(1993-06-18) 18 June 1993 (age 31)	97	4	Anderlecht
6	4FW	Tine De Caigny	(1997-06-09) 9 June 1997 (age 27)	103	47	Anderlecht
8	3MF	Féli Delacauw	(2002-04-04) 4 April 2002 (age 22)	33	1	TSG Hoffenheim
10	3MF	Justine Vanhaevermaet	(1992-04-29) 29 April 1992 (age 32)	67	7	Everton
15	4FW	Jarne Teulings	(2002-01-11) 11 January 2002 (age 22)	17	2	Feyenoord
20	3MF	Marie Detruyer	(2004-01-13) 13 January 2004 (age 20)	22	3	Inter Milan
23	3MF	Kassandra Missipo	(1998-02-03) 3 February 1998 (age 26)	66	2	Sassuolo
2	4FW	Ella Van Kerkhoven	(1993-11-20) 20 November 1993 (age 31)	27	16	Feyenoord
13	4FW	Mariam Toloba	(1999-09-20) 20 September 1999 (age 25)	3	1	Standard Liège
7	4FW	Hannah Eurlings	(2003-01-01) 1 January 2003 (age 21)	34	6	OH Leuven
9	4FW	Tessa Wullaert	(1993-03-19) 19 March 1993 (age 31)	139	87	Inter Milan
11	4FW	Janice Cayman	(1988-10-12) 12 October 1988 (age 36)	155	48	Leicester City
14	4FW	Jassina Blom	(1994-09-03) 3 September 1994 (age 30)	38	11	UD Tenerife
17	4FW	Jill Janssens	(2003-10-03) 3 October 2003 (age 21)	31	2	TSG Hoffenheim

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

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club	Latest call-up
GK	Diede Lemey	(1996-10-07) 7 October 1996 (age 28)	9	0	Fortuna Sittard	v.  Greece,25 October 2024INJ
GK	Riet Maes	(2002-04-08) 8 April 2002 (age 22)	0	0	Gent	v.  Czech Republic,4 June 2024
DF	Loredana Humartus	(2004-03-18) 18 March 2004 (age 20)	0	0	Standard Liège	v.  Denmark,9 April 2024
DF	Jody Vangheluwe	(1997-07-15) 15 July 1997 (age 27)	18	0	Club YLA	v.  Hungary, 27 February 2024
DF	Constance Brackman	(2001-10-20) 20 October 2001 (age 23)	3	0	Standard Liège	v.  Hungary, 27 February 2024
DF	Shari Van Belle	(1999-12-22) 22 December 1999 (age 24)	13	0	Standard Liège	v.  Netherlands, 5 December 2023
DF	Marie Minnaert	(1999-05-05) 5 May 1999 (age 25)	32	3	Anderlecht	Netherlands, 29 October 2024
DF	Michelle Colson	(1998-09-19) 19 September 1998 (age 26)	2	0	Unattached	2023 FIFA Women's World CupPRE
DF	Davina Philtjens	(1989-02-26) 26 February 1989 (age 35)	122	10	Sassuolo	v.  Spain, 16 July 2024INJ
MF	Valesca Ampoorter	(2004-03-05) 5 March 2004 (age 20)	6	0	OH Leuven	v.  Denmark,9 April 2024
MF	Chloe Vande Velde	(1997-06-06) 6 June 1997 (age 27)	28	2	Club YLA	v.  Hungary, 27 February 2024
FW	Noémie Gelders	(1996-11-15) 15 November 1996 (age 28)	1	0	Standard Liège	v.  Denmark,9 April 2024
FW	Yana Daniels	(1992-05-08) 8 May 1992 (age 32)	48	7	Liverpool	v.  Hungary, 27 February 2024INJ
FW	Welma Fon	(2002-06-01) 1 June 2002 (age 22)	5	0	Standard Liège	v.  Netherlands, 5 December 2023
FW	Elena Dhont	(1998-03-27) 27 March 1998 (age 26)	39	4	Sassuolo	v.  Spain, 16 July 2024INJ
FW	Amy Littel	(2004-04-15) 15 April 2004 (age 20)	0	0	Club YLA	v.  Spain, 16 July 2024
FW	Lore Jacobs	(2005-04-27) 27 April 2005 (age 19)	0	0	PSV	v.  Greece,25 October 2024 INJ
FW	Sarah Wijnants	(1999-10-13) 13 October 1999 (age 25)	40	3	Anderlecht	v.  Greece,25 October 2024
Notes INJ = Withdrew due to injury RET = Retired from the national team PRE = Preliminary squad

As of 4 December 2024 ^[18]

Players in bold are still active.

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.

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										11	7	1	2	56	7
2027	To be determined									To Be Determined
Total	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–		71	28	7	34	162	121
* Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

UEFA Women's Championship record										Qualification record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA		Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	P/R	Rnk
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										Unable to qualify
2001
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
2022	Quarter-finals	8th	4	1	1	2	3	4		8	7	0	1	37	5
2025	Qualified									10	4	2	4	14	19	[a]	12th
Total	Quarter-finals	3/14	7	2	1	4	6	7		88	34	17	37	145	157	12th
* Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

UEFA Women's Nations League record
League phase													Finals
Season	LG	Grp	Pos	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	P/R	RK		Year	Pos	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
2023–24	A	1	3rd	8	4	2	2	17	12	*	10th		2024	Did not qualify
2025	A	3	To be determined										2025	To be determined
Total				8	4	2	2	17	12	10th			Total	–	–	–	–	–	–	–

	Promoted at end of season
	No movement at end of season
	Relegated at end of season
*	Participated in promotion/relegation play-offs

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.^[19]

Belgium has been invited to the Cyprus Cup four times, as of 2019^[update]. 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.^[20]

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.^[5] Belgium finished in third place after defeating Austria on penalties in the third place match.

Belgium were crowned Pinatar Cup champions in 2022. Belgium beat Russia in the final after taking the game to penalties.^[21]

As of 5 August 2022^[22][23]

  Worst Ranking    Best Ranking    Worst Mover    Best Mover  

Belgium's FIFA world rankings
Rank	Year	GP	W	D	L	Best		Worst
						Rank	Move	Rank	Move
28	2015	10	4	3	3	27	0	28	1
25	2016	13	8	1	4	25	2	28	0
22	2017	17	8	3	6	22	2	23	1
21	2018	11	5	4	2	21	2	23	1
17	2019	14	10	3	1	17	1	20	1
17	2020	7	4	1	2	17	0	17	0
20	2021	12	6	1	5	18	0	20	1
19	2022	15	9	1	5	19	1	20	1

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (August 2023)

The following table shows Belgium's all-time international record.

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	WPCT
Albania	4	4	0	0	20	0	+20	100.00
Armenia	2	2	0	0	26	0	+26	100.00
Australia	1	1	0	0	1	0	+1	100.00
Austria	11	7	2	2	19	8	+11	63.64
Azerbaijan	2	1	1	0	11	0	+11	50.00
Bosnia and Herzegovina	2	2	0	0	11	0	+11	100.00
Bulgaria	4	3	1	0	11	0	+11	75.00
Canada	1	0	0	1	0	1	−1	0.00
Czech Republic	4	1	1	2	5	8	−3	25.00
North Korea	4	1	1	2	5	8	−3	25.00
Denmark	12	1	1	10	7	35	−28	8.33
Netherlands per Nov.1 - 2023	33	5	5	23	31	93	−62	15.15
Total	80	28	12	40	147	153	−6	35.00

• Cyprus cup

3rd: 2019

• Pinatar Cup

Champions: 2022

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