page_title: History of the Belgium national football team
section_title: Beginning of Renewal (2012–present)
hierarchical_section_title: History of the Belgium national football team / Timeline / Beginning of Renewal (2012–present)
caption_attribution_description: Русский: Второй состав сборной Бельгии оказался сильнее резерва англичан на ЧМ-2018
context_page_description: The history of the Belgium national football team officially dates back to their first international in 1904. The Royal Belgian Football Association, which governs the team, co-founded the international governing bodies FIFA and UEFA. As of October 2015, Belgium qualified for 12 FIFA World Cups and 5 UEFA European Championships. In the periods 1920–1938, 1970–2002 and since 2014 Belgium participated in many international tournaments, including three Olympic football tournaments in the 1920s. So far, the national side is considered to have had two golden generations: one in the 1980s and early 1990s, and one since the early 2010s.
context_section_description: Leekens left in May 2012 and signed for Club Brugge, stating his work was 90% completed. Assistant manager Marc Wilmots (assistant since 2009) was asked to replace Leekens and under his reign, the team improved, rising to a high of fifth on the FIFA World Rankings in October 2013. By 2013, several foreign media regarded this Belgian national side during the 2014 World Cup qualifiers as a new golden generation. Belgium had a broad potential to create chances, mainly with players such as attackers Kevin Mirallas, Christian Benteke and Romelu Lukaku, as well as midfielders Marouane Fellaini, Axel Witsel, Mousa Dembélé, Kevin De Bruyne and Eden Hazard. The solid defence has also been well noticed with outfield players such as Vincent Kompany, Thomas Vermaelen, Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen as well as the goalkeepers Thibaut Courtois and Simon Mignolet. Coach Wilmots was credited with "not only giving the young group confidence in themselves as well as enjoying a close relationship with his players but also at the same time being capable of instilling discipline to the squad". Belgium finally qualified as group winners after 8 wins and 2 draws. At the 2014 World Cup finals, the young and internationally less experienced squad continued its success by managing a streak of four wins, earning a spot for Belgium in the quarter-finals for only the second time in its history. This result is eclipsed only by the fourth place acquired in 1986.
    
  In June 2014, Wilmots prolonged his managerial contract until 2018 (including the World Cup in Russia). Players such as Adnan Januzaj, Divock Origi, Radja Nainggolan and Michy Batshuayi added up to the offensive potential of his squad. The team reached several more FIFA rank records during this period, reaching for the first time fourth in October 2014, third in April 2015 and second in June 2015. Belgium qualified for Euro 2016 with a match to spare in October 2015, resulting in the first position in the FIFA World Rankings in November 2015. In the 2018 World Cup qualifying allocation, they were seeded first in their group.
caption: The Belgian football team at the group phase of the FIFA World Cup 2018
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