The U.S. plays Belgium in their next World Cup game. Sound smart to friends and coworkers by knowing everything there is to know about Belgium.
- Belgium’s National Anthem is called “The Brabanconne.” It has French, Dutch, and German versions: The country has three official languages.
- The team is also known as the “Red Devils”, which explains the horns you’ll see on their fans.
- The first U.S. – Belgium match was at the 1930 World Cup, a 3-0 victory for the Americans.
- The U.S.’s all-time record against Belgium is 1-4-0.
- Belgium’s best finish in an international tournament: runner-up in the 1980 European Championship.
- Marc Wilmots is head coach. As a midfielder, he went to four World Cups and played in three. He’s Belgium’s all-time top World Cup scorer with 5 goals, and was nicknamed “The Fighting Boar.”
- He manages a team stocked with young superstars: Here are the ones you should know:
- #8 Marouane Fellaini: He’s the midfielder with big hair. He also has big talent, but had a bad year with Manchester United. He’s one of 12 Belgians on the World Cup team who play in the English Premier League. You’re going to see a lot of Fellaini wigs. A whole lot.
- #10 Eden Hazard: The attacking midfielder plays with flair. He creates and scores goals, like he does with Chelsea.
- #4 Vincent Kompany: The Belgium and Manchester City Captain is a solid defender, but he’s struggling with a groin injury.
- #7 Kevin De Bruyne: The attacking midfielder’s skill is as big as his ego, which is huge. He plays for Wolfsburg in Germany.
- #1 Thibaut Courtois: He played in the 2014 Champions League Final for Athletico Madrid, who had on loan from Chelsea.
- #9 Romelu Lukaku: The striker had a great year for Everton (on loan from Chelsea), but had no goals or assists in Brazil.
- Watch out for these two youngsters. They might not start, but can easily score off the bench: #17 Divock Origi, #20 Adnan Januzaj
- Belgium has a defender named Axel Witsel. What a great name!
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