Belgium has been one of Europe\u2019s most consistent national teams over the past decade, qualifying for every major tournament since 2014 and finishing third at the 2018 World Cup\u2014 the best result in the country\u2019s history. The team’s recent cycle included deep runs at Euro 2016 and Euro 2020 and sustained periods ranked No. 1 in the FIFA world rankings. As the 2026 FIFA World Cup approaches, Belgium enters with a squad transitioning from its long-established core to a newer generation competing across top European leagues.<\/p>\n
How they Qualified:<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n Belgium qualified for the 2026 FIFA World Cup by finishing as winners of UEFA Group J, thereby securing one of Europe\u2019s automatic slots. Their campaign was clinched with a decisive 7-0 victory over Liechtenstein on the final matchday, which confirmed their top-spot finish ahead of Wales.<\/p>\n World Cup Group Stage Schedule:<\/strong><\/p>\n Previous World Cup appearances:<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n What is Belgium’s Best Finish in the World Cup?<\/strong><\/p>\n Who’ll be Belgium’s Key Players at the World Cup?<\/strong><\/p>\n J\u00e9r\u00e9my Doku is a winger for Manchester City and has been part of Belgium\u2019s senior team since 2020. He played in the 2022 World Cup and Euro 2024 and has earned regular minutes in the Premier League and UEFA Champions League. Doku is also a product of Anderlecht\u2019s academy and previously played for Rennes before moving to England.<\/p>\n Thibaut Courtois is Belgium\u2019s long-time first-choice goalkeeper and has earned 107 caps since debuting in 2011. He played in the 2014, 2018 and 2022 World Cups and was named the Golden Glove winner at the 2018 tournament. At club level, he has won the UEFA Champions League, La Liga titles and multiple domestic cups with Real Madrid, and earlier in his career won Premier League titles with Chelsea.<\/p>\n Kevin De Bruyne is a midfielder for Napoli and has been a central figure for Belgium since 2010, earning 115 caps and appearing in three World Cups and multiple European Championships. At club level, he has won the UEFA Champions League, multiple Premier League titles and numerous domestic trophies with Manchester City, and he has been named Premier League Player of the Season and included in the FIFA FIFPro World XI several times. He remains one of Belgium\u2019s most experienced players entering 2026.<\/p>\n Who is Belgium’s Manager for the World Cup?<\/strong><\/p>\n Rudi Garcia became the manager of the Belgium national team during the 2026 World Cup qualifying cycle, taking over after a long club career across France, Italy and Saudi Arabia. He previously managed Lille, where he won the Ligue 1 and Coupe de France double in 2011, and later coached Roma, Marseille, Lyon, Al-Nassr and Napoli. Garcia guided Belgium through UEFA Group J to secure direct qualification for the 2026 World Cup and now leads a squad transitioning from its veteran core to a newer generation competing across top European leagues.<\/p>\n Belgium’s All-Time Leading Scorer:<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n Belgium’s All-Time Caps Leader:<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n Belgium’s Team Nickname:<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n About the Country:<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n Want great stories delivered right to your inbox?\u00a0<\/i>Create or log in to your FOX Sports account<\/u><\/i> and follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily!<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" POPULAR SEARCHES BROWSE BY Belgium has been one of Europe\u2019s most consistent national teams over the past decade, qualifying for every major tournament since 2014 and finishing third at the 2018 World Cup\u2014 the best result in the country\u2019s history. The team’s recent cycle included deep runs at Euro 2016 and Euro 2020 and sustained […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":2430,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2431","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-soccer"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2431","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2431"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2431\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2430"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2431"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2431"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2431"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}