The Belgium women's national football team, nicknamed the 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 head coach is Elísabet Gunnarsdóttir. 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).
History
Early days (1976–1984) 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. The team has steadily built a reputation for technical skill and disciplined play, becoming a competitive force in European women's football.
First tournaments (1984–1989) 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.
Stagnation (1990–2011) 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.
Improvements (2011–2018) 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". Following the improvements, the RBFA invested in more growth in 2015, targeting qualification for Euro 2017. 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.
First success (2019–2022) 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. In 2019, Belgium also finished third during the 2019 Cyprus cup after defeating Austria on penalties.
In 2022, Belgium won the Pinatar Cup, a friendly tournament held in Spain, beating Russia on penalties. Les Red Flames remportent la Pinatar Cup face à la Russie, le tout premier trophée de leur histoire 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. Euro féminin : qualifiées pour les quarts, les Red Flames ont déjà tout gagné 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. Euro féminin - Suède-Belgique : Les Red Flames éliminées en quart de finale dans les toutes dernières secondes
Team image Nicknames 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". Prior to that, they were simply known as "Rode Duivelinnen" (Red Devil Ladies).
Kits and crest 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. 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".
Kit suppliers Adidas Period 2022–present 2021-2022
Home stadium
The team plays their home matches mostly at Den Dreef but occasionally at other stadiums in Belgium.
Results and fixtures
The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.
Legend
2025
2026
Coaching staff Current coaching staff
RoleNameHead coach Elísabet GunnarsdóttirAssistant coach Kris Van Der HaegenGoalkeeping coach Jan Van SteenberghePerformance analyst Niels Leroy Hanne Nielandt Arne JaspersNutritionist Gino DevriendtMental coach Steffi Van RanstTeam doctor Karolien Lemmens Kris VanderlindenPhysiotherapist Fabienne Van De Steene Jan Van der JeugtManager women's football Katrien Jans
Manager history
Albert Bers (1976–1991) Marc Van Geersom (1991–1994) Johan Bol (1994–1999) Anne Noë (1999–2010) Ives Serneels (2011–2024) Elísabet Gunnarsdóttir (2025–)
Players
Current squad
The following players were called up for the 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification matches against Luxembourg on 5 and 9 June 2026.
Caps and goals are correct as of 9 June 2026, after the match against Luxembourg. Belgian Team
Recent call-ups
The following players have also been called up to the squad within the past 12 months.
Notes
= Withdrew due to injury
= Preliminary squad / standby = Retired from the national team
Individual records
All Red Flames
Players in bold are still active with the national team.
Most appearances
RankPlayerCareerCapsGoals1Janice Cayman2007–present176492Tessa Wullaert2011–present1581053Davina Philtjens2008–2025128104Tine De Caigny2014–present113435Laura Deloose2015–202511256Aline Zeler2005–2019111297Julie Biesmans2011–202310438Heleen Jaques2007–20209739Maud Coutereels2004–202090910Femke Maes1996–20098525
Top goalscorers
#PlayerCareerGoalsCapsAvg.1Tessa Wullaert 2011–present105158 2Janice Cayman 2007–present49176 3Tine De Caigny 2014–present43113 4Aline Zeler 2009–201929111 5Femke Maes 1996–20092585 6Kristel Verelst 1998–20091846 7Myriam Vanslembrouck 1992–19961621 Ella Van Kerkhoven 2013–present1635 9Christine Saelens 1993–20031341 10Cecile Carnol 1996–20031237
Competitive record 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 FIFA Women's World Cup recordQualification recordYearRoundPosition* 1991Did not qualify6105112 199562131513 19998017623 20036501139 20078008825 201183141813 2015106133411 20198421118 202311712567 2027To be determinedTo Be Determined 2031To be determinedTo Be Determined 2035To be determinedTo Be DeterminedTotal – – – – – – – –7128734162121* Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.
UEFA Women's Championship
UEFA Women's Championship recordQualification recordYearRoundPosition* 1984Did not qualify6132712 – 19876105617 1989824274 19916105112 1993412118 199562131513 1997 Unable to qualify 2001 20058107539 – 20098314715 201310622188 2017Group stage10th3102338521275 2022Quarter-finals8th4112348701375 2025Group stage11th31024810424141912thTotalQuarter-finals3/14 10 3 1 6 10 1588341737145157 12th* Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.
UEFA Women's Nations League UEFA Women's Nations League recordLeague phaseFinalsSeasonYear2023–24A13rd84221712*10th 2024Did not qualify2025A33rd83051321*10th 2025Did not qualifyTotal 16 7 2 7 30 33 10thTotal – – – – – – –
Promoted at end of season No movement at end of season Relegated at end of season * Participated in promotion/relegation play-offs
Algarve Cup 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.
Cyprus Cup