The arguably best WC qualifying group in history

1982 World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 2

             w d l goals pt      att

Belgium      5 1 2 12-9  11   41.703

France       5 0 3 20-8  10   45.195

Ireland      4 2 2 17-11 10   34.914

Netherlands  4 1 3 11-7   9   43.243

Cyprus       0 0 8  4-29  0    7.450

5 goals:

Erwin Vandenbergh (Bel), Michel Platini (Fra) 

4 goals:

Jan Ceulemans (Bel)

3 goals:

Gerry Daly, Michael Robinson, Frank Stapleton (Irl), Bernard Lacombe, Didier Six (Fra) 

2 goals:

Jean-François Larios, Gerard Soler, Jacques Zimako (Fra), Tony Grealish, Mark Lawrenson, Paul McGee (Irl), Arnold Mühren, Kees van Kooten (Ned) 

Player ratings France 1-0 Belgium

 

1-0 85' og Jan Vertonghen (Randal Kolo Muani). Att: 46.810  (Düsseldorf Arena).

France: Mike Maignan 6,50 - Jules Koundé 6,60, William Saliba 6,60, Dayot Upamecano 6,20, Theo Hernández 6,40, Aurélien Tchouaméni 6,60, N'Golo Kanté 6,40, Adrien Rabiot 6,00, Antoine Griezmann 5,40, Marcus Thuram 5,20 (62' Randal Kolo Muani 6,80), Kylian Mbappé 5,80. - coach: Didier Deschamps 6,20. = average: 6,21 [solid]

Belgium: Koen Casteels 6,20 - Timothy Castagne 5,90 (88' Dodi Lukébakio), Wout Faes 6,20, Jan Vertonghen 5,30, Arthur Theate 5,70, Yannick Carrasco 6,00 (88' Charles De Ketelaere), Amadou Onana 5,80, Kevin De Bruyne 5,90, Jérémy Doku 6,30, Loïs Openda 5,40 (63' Orel Mangala 5,60), Romelu Lukaku 5,00. - coach: Domenico Tedesco 5,90. = average: 5,78 [mediocre]

Player ratings Ukraine 0-0 Belgium

 Att: 54.000 (Stuttgart Arena). 

Ukraine: Anatoliy Trubin 6,20 - Oleksandr Svatok 6,00 (81' Andrey Yarmolenko), Ilya Zabarnyi 6,00, Vitaliy Mykolenko 5,60 (58' Oleksandr Zinchenko 6,00), Mykola Matvienko 6,30, Oleksandr Tymchyk 6,00, Georgiy Sudakov 6,20, Volodymyr Brazhko 6,00 (70' Taras Stepanenko 6,00), Mykola Shaparenko 6,00 (70' Ruslan Malinovskiy 6,40), Roman Yaremchuk 5,60 (70' Vladyslav Vanat 6,00), Artem Dovbyk 5,50. - coach: Serhiy Rebrov 5,80. = average: 5,99 [decent]

Belgium: Koen Casteels 6,30 - Arthur Theate 5,90, Wout Faes 6,40, Jan Vertonghen 5,80, Timothy Castagne 6,10, Youri Tielemans 5,70 (62' Yannick Carrasco 5,60), Amadou Onana 6,20, Leandro Trossard 5,20 (62' Orel Mangala 5,70), Kevin De Bruyne 6,80, Jérémy Doku 6,00 (77' Johan Bakayoko), Romelu Lukaku 5,20 (90' Loïs Openda). - coach: Domenico Tedesco 5,80. = average: 5,92 [vulnerable]

Player ratings Belgium 2-0 Romania

 1-0 2' Youri Tielemans (Romelu Lukaku), 2-0 80' Kevin De Bruyne (Koen Casteels). Att: 47.000 (Stadion Köln). 

Belgium: Koen Casteels 6,60 - Timothy Castagne 6,00, Wout Faes 6,10, Arthur Theate 6,10 (76' Zeno Debast), Jan Vertonghen 6,20, Youri Tielemans 7,00 (72' Yannick Carrasco 6,10), Amadou Onana 6,50, Kevin De Bruyne 7,50, Dodi Lukébakio 6,30 (56' Leandro Trossard 6,00), Jérémy Doku 6,90 (72' Orel Mangala 6,00), Romelu Lukaku 6,70. - coach: Domenico Tedesco 6,80. = average: 6,43 [strong]

Romania: Florin Niţă 6,70 - Andrei Ratiu 5,60 (89' Deian Sorescu), Radu Drăgușin 5,70, Andrei Burcă 5,70, Nicușor Bancu 5,40, Marius Marin 5,70 (68' Ianis Hagi 5,70), Răzvan Marin 5,70, Valentin Mihăilă 5,50 (68' Darius Olaru 5,80), Denis Drăguş 5,00, Nicolae Stanciu 5,70, Dennis Man 5,50. - coach: Edward Iordanescu 5,80. = average: 5,67 [disappointing]

Player ratings Belgium 0-1 Slovakia

 

0-1 7' Ivan Schranz (Juraj Kucka). Att: 45.181 (Frankfurt Arena).

Belgium: Koen Casteels 6,20 - Timothy Castagne 5,50, Wout Faes 6,00, Zeno Debast 5,60, Yannick Carrasco 5,40 (84' Dodi Lukébakio), Orel Mangala 5,50 (58' Johan Bakayoko 5,80), Amadou Onana 5,80, Leandro Trossard 5,10 (74' Youri Tielemans 5,50), Kevin De Bruyne 5,90, Jérémy Doku 5,40 (84' Loïs Openda), Romelu Lukaku 5,20. - coach: Domenico Tedesco 5,30. = average: 5,61 [disappointing]

Slovakia: Martin Dúbravka 6,50 - Peter Pekarík 6,10, Denis Vavro 6,40, Milan Škriniar 6,60, Dávid Hancko 6,90, Ondrej Duda 6,60 (90'+4 Adam Obert), Juraj Kucka 6,70, Stanislav Lobotka 7,10, Ivan Schranz 6,80 (81' Dávid Ďuriš), Róbert Boženík 6,10 (70' Dávid Strelec 6,00), Lukáš Haraslín 6,50 (70' Tomáš Suslov 6,10). - coach: Francesco Calzona 7,00. = average: 6,49 [very good]

Match rating: 6

Belgium ratings in the 1986 World Cup

 

Ratings: Guerin Sportivo - El Mundo Deportivo - El Gráfico.

6,68 Jean-Marie Pfaff
6,53 Jan Ceulemans
6,44 Patrick Vervoort
6,38 Eric Gerets
6,17 Franky Vercauteren
6,16 René Vandereycken
6,14  Nico Claesen
6,13 Enzo Scifo
6,10 Georges Grün
6,09 Michel Renquin
5,92 Stéphane Demol
5,81 Daniel Veyt
5,76 Hugo Broos
5,65 Franky Van Der Elst
5,61 Michel de Wolf
5,52 Philippe Desmet

Belgium all-time Best XI

 According to Guerin Sportivo (1994).

Jean-Marie Pfaff
---
Walter Meeuws
Louis Carré
Eric Gerets
Fons Van Brandt
---
Wilfried Van Moer
Vic Mees
Paul Van Himst -photo-
---
Jef Mermans
Raymond Braine
Jan Ceulemans

Belgium ratings in the 2022 World Cup

6,10 Thibaut Courtois
6,00 Toby Alderweireld
5,95 Amadou Onana
5,93 Jan Vertonghen
5,85 Michy Batshuayi
5,80 Leander Dendoncker
5,67 Kevin De Bruyne
5,65 Thorgan Hazard
5,60 Youri Tielemans, Eden Hazard
5,57 Timothy Castagne
5,53 Thomas Meunier
5,50 Leandro Trossard, Dries Mertens
5,47 Axel Witsel
5,10 Yannick Carrasco
5,03 Roberto Martínez

Player ratings Belgium 1-0 Canada

 1-0 44' Michy Batshuayi l. (Toby Alderweireld). Alphonso Davies missed a PK (11' ). Att: 40.432 (Ahmed bin Ali Stadium, ar-Rayyan).

Belgium: Thibaut Courtois 7,20 - Leander Dendoncker 5,90, Jan Vertonghen 5,90, Toby Alderweireld 6,40, Timothy Castagne 5,90, Axel Witsel 5,60, Kevin De Bruyne 5,90, Youri Tielemans 5,40 (46' Amadou Onana 5,80), Yannick Carrasco 4,90 (46' Thomas Meunier 6,00), Eden Hazard 5,70 (62' Leandro Trossard 6,00), Michy Batshuayi 6,80 (78' Loïs Openda). - coach: Roberto Martínez 6,20. = average: 5,96 [satisfactory]

Canada: Milan Borjan 5,90 - Alistair Johnston 5,50, Steven Vitória 5,50, Kamal Miller 6,00, Atiba Hutchinson 5,90 (58' Ismael Koné 5,90), Richie Laryea 6,20 (74' Sam Adekugbe 5,90), Stephen Eustáquio 6,00 (81' Liam Millar), Junior Hoilett 5,60 (58' Cyle Larin 6,10,Tajon Buchanan 6,10 (81' Jonathan Osorio), Alphonso Davies 5,60, Jonathan David 5,80. - coach: John Herdman 6,00. = average: 5,86 [vulnerable]

Player ratings Croatia 0-0 Belgium

 

Att: 43.984 (Ahmed bin Ali Stadium, ar-Rayyan).

Croatia: Dominik Livaković 5,60 - Josip Juranović 6,10, Dejan Lovren 5,90, Joško Gvardiol 7,10, Borna Sosa 6,00, Mateo Kovačić 6,00 (90'+2 Lovro Majer), Luka Modrić 6,70, Marcelo Brozović 6,20, Andrej Kramarić 5,90 (64' Mario Pašalić 5,70), Marko Livaja 5,60 (64' Bruno Petković 6,00), Ivan Perišić 6,40. - coach: Zlatko Dalić 6,10. = average: 6,09 [satisfactory]

Belgium: Thibaut Courtois 6,40 - Leander Dendoncker 5,70 (72' Youri Tielemans 5,90), Jan Vertonghen 6,20, Toby Alderweireld 6,00, Thomas Meunier 5,50 (87' Eden Hazard), Timothy Castagne 5,60, Axel Witsel 5,80, Kevin De Bruyne 5,60, Yannick Carrasco 5,30 (72' Jérémy Doku 6,00), Leandro Trossard 5,20 (59' Thorgan Hazard 5,80), Dries Mertens 5,20 (46' Romelu Lukaku 4,00). - coach: Roberto Martínez 4,40. = average: 5,61 [failing]

Player ratings Belgium 0-2 Morocco

 0-1 73' Romain Saïss r. (Abdelhamid Sabiri), 0-2 90'+2 Zakaria Aboukhlal r. (Hakim Ziyech). Att:

Belgium: Thibaut Courtois 4,70 - Jan Vertonghen 5,70, Toby Alderweireld 5,60, Timothy Castagne 5,20, Thomas Meunier 5,10 (81' Romelu Lukaku), Axel Witsel 5,00, Kevin De Bruyne 5,50, Amadou Onana 6,10 (60' Youri Tielemans 5,50), Thorgan Hazard 5,50 (75' Leandro Trossard 5,30), Eden Hazard 5,50 (60' Dries Mertens 5,80), Michy Batshuayi 4,90 (75' Charles De Ketelaere 5,30). - coach: Roberto Martínez 4,50. = average: 5,38 [feeble]

Morocco: Munir 6,30 - Achraf Hakimi 6,10 (68' Abdelhamid Sabiri 6,90), Romain Saïss 6,60, Nayef Aguerd 6,40, Noussair Mazraoui 6,10, Sofyan Amrabat 6,80, Azzedine Ounahi 6,00 (78' Jawad El-Yamiq), Selim Amallah 6,10 (68' Yahia Attiat-Allah 6,40), Hakim Ziyech 7,40, Youssef En-Nesyri 5,80 (73' Abderrazak Hamdallah 6,00), Sofiane Boufal 6,30 (73' Zakaria Aboukhlal 7,00). - coach: Walid Regragui 7,20. = average: 6,41 [strong]

Player ratings Italy 2-1 Belgium [NL]

 1-0 47' Nicolò Barella, 2-0 65' Domenico Berardi PK, 2-1 86' Charles De Ketelaere (Kevin De Bruyne). Att: (Turin).

Italy: Gianluigi Donnarumma 6,30 - Francesco Acerbi 6,10, Emerson Palmieri 5,80, Giovanni Di Lorenzo 6,00, Alessandro Bastoni 6,20, Lorenzo Pellegrini 6,30 (70' Bryan Cristante 6,00), Manuel Locatelli 6,40, Nicolò Barella 7,10 (70' Jorginho 6,10), Giacomo Raspadori 5,60 (65' Moise Kean 5,70), Federico Chiesa 7,20 (90' Lorenzo Insigne), Domenico Berardi 6,80 (90' Federico Bernardeschi). - coach: Roberto Mancini 6,90. = average: 6,26 [good]

Belgium: Thibaut Courtois 6,70 - Toby Alderweireld 6,10, Jan Vertonghen 5,50, Jason Denayer 5,80, Timothy Castagne 5,00, Alexis Saelemaekers 6,20 (59' Kevin De Bruyne 6,50), Axel Witsel 5,70, Youri Tielemans 5,50 (59' Charles De Ketelaere 6,80), Hans Vanaken 5,20, Yannick Carrasco 6,00 (87' Leandro Trossard), Michy Batshuayi 5,90. - coach: Roberto Martínez 5,80. = average: 5,95 [acceptable]

Player ratings Belgium 2-3 France [NL]

 1-0 37' Yannick Carrasco r.  (Kevin De Bruyne), 2-0 40' Romelu Lukaku r.  (Kevin De Bruyne), 2-1 62' Karim Benzema l.  (Kylian Mbappé), 2-2 69' Kylian Mbappé PK (Antoine Griezmann), 2-3 90' Theo Hernández l.  (Benjamin Pavard). Att: 12.409 (Turin).

Belgium: Thibaut Courtois 5,90 - Toby Alderweireld 5,40, Jason Denayer 5,60, Jan Vertonghen 5,70, Timothy Castagne 5,40 (90' Michy Batshuayi), Axel Witsel 5,90, Youri Tielemans 5,30 (70' Hans Vanaken 5,30), Yannick Carrasco 6,60, Kevin De Bruyne 6,30, Romelu Lukaku 7,00, Eden Hazard 5,80 (74' Leandro Trossard 5,30). - coach: Roberto Martínez 5,60. = average: 5,81 [mediocre]

France: Hugo Lloris 5,40 - Jules Koundé 6,10, Raphaël Varane 6,00, Theo Hernández 5,40, Benjamin Pavard 5,90 (90' Léo Dubois), Paul Pogba 6,50, Adrien Rabiot 5,10 (75' Aurélien Tchouaméni 6,20), Lucas Hernández 6,80, Antoine Griezmann 6,20, Kylian Mbappé 7,80, Karim Benzema 7,00 (90' Jordan Veretout). - coach: Didier Deschamps 6,60. = average: 6,20 [solid]

Player ratings Belgium 1-2 Italy

 

0-1 31' Nicolò Barella r.  (Marco Verratti), 0-2 44' Lorenzo Insigne r., 1-2 45' Romelu Lukaku PK. Att: 12.984 (Munich).

Belgium: Thibaut Courtois 5,90 - Toby Alderweireld 5,60, Thomas Vermaelen 5,80, Jan Vertonghen 5,40, Thomas Meunier 5,30 (69'Nacer Chadli - 73' Dennis Praet 5,80), Axel Witsel 5,50, Youri Tielemans 5,70 (69' Dries Mertens 5,60), Thorgan Hazard 5,70, Kevin De Bruyne 6,50, Jérémy Doku 6,90, Romelu Lukaku 6,00. - coach: Roberto Martínez 5,70. = average: 5,82 [mediocre]

Italy: Gianluigi Donnarumma 6,90 - Giovanni Di Lorenzo 5,60, Leonardo Bonucci 6,60, Giorgio Chiellini 6,80, Leonardo Spinazzola 7,10 (79' Emerson 6,00), Nicolò Barella 7,00, Jorginho 6,80, Marco Verratti 6,80 (74' Bryan Cristante 6,00), Federico Chiesa 6,30 (90' Rafael Tolói), Ciro Immobile 5,20 (74' Andrea Belotti 5,90), Lorenzo Insigne 7,30 (79' Domenico Berardi 6,10). - coach: Roberto Mancini 7,30. = average: 6,43 [strong]

Player ratings Belgium 1-0 Portugal

 

1-0 42' Thorgan Hazard r. (Thomas Meunier). Att: 11.504 (Sevilla).

Belgium: Thibaut Courtois 6,60 - Toby Alderweireld 6,10, Thomas Vermaelen 6,50, Jan Vertonghen 6,30, Thomas Meunier 6,30, Youri Tielemans 6,20, Axel Witsel 6,10, Thorgan Hazard 7,00 (90' Leander Dendoncker), Kevin De Bruyne 6,00 (48' Dries Mertens 5,80), Eden Hazard 6,60 (87' Yannick Carrasco), Romelu Lukaku 6,20. - coach: Roberto Martínez 6,20. = average: 6,31 [good]

Portugal: Rui Patrício 5,40 - Diogo Dalot 5,90, Rúben Dias 6,00, Pepe 6,00, Raphaël Guerreiro 6,00, João Moutinho 5,50 (55' Bruno Fernandes 5,80), João Palhinha 5,50 (78' Danilo), Renato Sanches 6,60 (78' Sérgio Oliveira), Bernardo Silva 5,00 (55' João Félix 6,00), Cristiano Ronaldo 5,70, Diogo Jota 5,40 (70' André Silva 6,10). - coach: Fernando Santos 5,90. = average: 5,78 [mediocre]

Player ratings Finland 0-2 Belgium

 0-1 74' og Lukáš Hrádecký (Thomas Vermaelen), 0-2 81' Romelu Lukaku r. Att: 18.545 (St. Petersburg).

Finland: Lukáš Hrádecký 6,10 - Joona Toivio 5,80, Paulus Arajuuri 6,00, Daniel O'Shaughnessy 5,70, Jukka Raitala 5,20, Glen Kamara 6,10, Tim Sparv 6,10 (59' Rasmus Schüller 5,70), Robin Lod 5,40 (90' Fredrik Jensen), Jere Uronen 5,90 (70' Nikolai Alho 5,80), Teemu Pukki 5,30 (90' Marcus Forss), Joel Pohjanpalo 5,30 (70'  Joni Kauko 5,60). - coach: Markku Kanerva 5,90. = average: 5,71 [disappointing]

Belgium: Thibaut Courtois 6,00 - Dedryck Boyata 6,10, Jason Denayer 6,10, Thomas Vermaelen 6,80, Leandro Trossard 5,80 (75' Thomas Meunier), Axel Witsel 6,00, Kevin De Bruyne 7,00 (90' Hans Vanaken), Jérémy Doku 6,50 (75' Michy Batshuayi), Nacer Chadli 5,70, Romelu Lukaku 6,90 (84' Christian Benteke), Eden Hazard 6,00. - coach: Roberto Martínez 6,80. = average: 6,26 [good]

Player ratings Denmark 1-2 Belgium

 1-0 2' Yussuf Poulsen r. (Pierre-Emile Højbjerg), 1-1 55' Thorgan Hazard l. (Kevin De Bruyne), 1-2 70' Kevin De Bruyne l. (Eden Hazard). Att: 23.395 (Copenhagen).

Denmark: Kasper Schmeichel 5,70 - Andreas Christensen 6,00, Simon Kjær 6,50, Jannik Vestergaard 5,60 (84' Andreas Skov Olsen), Joakim Mæhle 6,70, Daniel Wass 6,20 (62' Jens Stryger Larsen 5,60), Pierre-Emile Højbjerg 6,70, Thomas Delaney 6,20 (72' Mathias Jensen 6,10), Mikkel Damsgaard 6,70 (72' Andreas Cornelius 5,70), Yussuf Poulsen 6,50 (61' Christian Nørgaard 5,70), Martin Braithwaite 6,50. - coach: Kasper Hjulmand 6,30. = average: 6,16 [solid]

Belgium: Thibaut Courtois 6,40 - Toby Alderweireld 5,80, Jason Denayer 4,80, Jan Vertonghen 5,50, Thomas Meunier 5,60, Youri Tielemans 6,00, Leander Dendoncker 5,30 (59' Axel Witsel 6,10), Thorgan Hazard 6,60 (90' Thomas Vermaelen), Dries Mertens 5,20 (46' Kevin De Bruyne 7,80), Yannick Carrasco 5,30 (59' Eden Hazard 6,60), Romelu Lukaku 6,80. - coach: Roberto Martínez 6,20. = average: 5,99 [acceptable]

Player ratings Belgium 3-0 Russia

 1-0 10' Romelu Lukaku l., 2-0 34' Thomas Meunier l., 3-0 Romelu Lukaku r. (Thomas Meunier). Att: 26.264 (St. Petersburg). 

Belgium: Thibaut Courtois 6,00 - Toby Alderweireld 6,40, Dedryck Boyata 6,40, Jan Vertonghen 6,30 (77' Thomas Vermaelen), Timothy Castagne 5,90 (27' Thomas Meunier 7,10), Leander Dendoncker 6,40, Youri Tielemans 6,50, Yannick Carrasco 6,90 (77' Dennis Praet), Dries Mertens 6,20 (72' Eden Hazard 6,00), Romelu Lukaku 7,70, Thorgan Hazard 6,70. - coach: Roberto Martínez 6,90. = average: 6,50 [very good]

Russia: Anton Shunin 4,90 - Mário Fernandes 5,80, Andrei Semyonov 4,50, Georgi Dzhikiya 5,60, Yuriy Zhirkov 5,20 (43' Vyacheslav Karavaev 5,60), Magomed Ozdoev 5,30, Dmitry Barinov 5,10 (46' Igor Diveev 5,40), Roman Zobnin 5,10 (63' Aleksey Miranchuk 5,70), Aleksandr Golovin 5,60, Daler Kuzyaev 5,40 (30' Denis Cheryshev 4,90 - 63' Maksim Mukhin 5,50), Artëm Dzyuba 5,60. - coach: Stanislav Cherchesov 4,60. = average: 5,32 [lame]

Belgium ratings in the 1986 World Cup

Ratings: Guerin Sportivo - La Stampa - France Football - El Mundo Deportivo.

6,68 Jean-Marie Pfaff
6,58 Jan Ceulemans
6,37 Eric Gerets
6,35 Patrick Vervoort
6,25 Franky Vercauteren
6,12 Enzo Scifo, Georges Grün
6,09 Nico Claesen
6,05 Michel Renquin
5,98 Stéphane Demol
5,83 Daniel Veyt
5,69 Franky Van Der Elst

Two rated appareances: 6,38 René Vandereycken, 5,74 Hugo Broos, 5,72 Philippe Desmet, 5,64 Michel de Wolf

Player ratings Belgium 2-0 England

Belgium: Thibaut Courtois 6,13 - Toby Alderweireld 6,72, Vincent Kompany 6,08, Jan Vertonghen 5,74, Thomas Meunier 7,04, Axel Witsel 6,13, Kevin De Bruyne 7,17, Nacer Chadli 6,40 (39' Thomas Vermaelen 5,79), Youri Tielemans 5,99 (78' Mousa Dembélé), Eden Hazard 7,17, Romelu Lukaku 5,72 (60' Dries Mertens 5,81). - coach: Roberto Martínez 6,91. = average: 6,30 [good]

England: Jordan Pickford 6,31 - Phil Jones 5,17, John Stones 5,76, Harry Maguire 5,99, Eric Dier 5,85, Kieran Trippier 5,54, Danny Rose 5,04 (46' Jesse Lingard 5,64), Fabian Delph 5,40, Ruben Loftus-Cheek 5,95 (84' Dele Alli), Raheem Sterling 5,35 (46' Marcus Rashford 5,68), Harry Kane 4,99. - coach: Gareth Southgate 5,41. = average: 5,59 [poor]