Belgium national under-21 football team

The Belgium national under-21 football team is the national under-21 football team of Belgium and is controlled by the Belgian Football Association. The team competes in the European Under-21 Football Championship, held every two years. Their biggest successes were winning the 2007–09 International Challenge Trophy and reaching the European Championship semi-finals in 2007 in the Netherlands. Thanks to the latter achievement, Belgium qualified for the football tournament at the 2008 Summer Olympics. Their current home stadium is Den Dreef in Leuven.

Belgium U-21
Nickname(s)Jonge duivels (Young demons)

Jeunes diables (Little devils)

Junge Teufels (Young Devils)
AssociationRoyal Belgian Football Association
Head coachGill Swerts
CaptainAster Vranckx
Most capsJean-François Gillet (36)
Top scorerLoïs Openda (13)
Home stadiumDen Dreef
First colours
Second colours
First international
France 1–1 Belgium
(Amiens, France; 3 September 1976)
Biggest win
Belgium 8–0 Luxembourg
(Mechelen, Belgium; 3 June 2007)
Biggest defeat
Czech Republic 7–0 Belgium
(Prague, Czech Republic; 24 April 2001)
UEFA U-21 Championship
Appearances4 (first in 2002)
Best resultSemi-finals (2007)

UEFA U-21 Championship Record
Year Round Pld W D L GF GA
Europe 1978Did not qualify
Europe 1980
Europe 1982
Europe 1984
Europe 1990
Europe 1988
Europe 1990
Europe 1992
France 1994
Spain 1996
Romania 1998
Slovakia 2000
Switzerland 2002Group stage310224
Germany 2004Did not qualify
Portugal 2006
Netherlands 2007Semi-finals412134
Sweden 2009Did not qualify
Denmark 2011
Israel 2013
Czech Republic 2015
Poland 2017
Italy San Marino 2019Group stage300348
Hungary Slovenia 2021Did not qualify
Romania Georgia (country) 2023Group stage302134

Results and fixtures

Belgium are currently competing for qualification to the 2019 UEFA European Under-21 Championship. The table below shows their current standing in the qualification group.

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1  Belgium 10 8 2 0 23 5 +18 26 Final tournament — 1–1 0–0 3–0 3–2 2–1
2  Sweden 10 6 2 2 19 8 +11 20 0–3 — 0–1 1–0 4–1 3–0
3  Turkey 10 5 2 3 14 10 +4 17 1–2 0–3 — 0–0 4–0 4–2
4  Hungary 10 3 2 5 12 14 −2 11 0–3 2–2 1–2 — 4–0 2–1
5  Cyprus 10 2 1 7 8 23 −15 7 0–2 0–1 2–1 0–2 — 2–1
6  Malta 10 1 1 8 8 24 −16 4 0–4 0–4 0–1 2–1 1–1 —
Source: UEFA

Results
27 March 2017 Belgium  2–1  Malta Heverlee, Belgium
20:00 CET R. Mmaee 43'
Cools 54'		 Report 69' Grech Stadium: Den Dreef
Referee: Rob Harvey (Republic of Ireland)
5 September 2017 Belgium  0–0  Turkey Heverlee, Belgium
20:00 CET Report Stadium: Den Dreef
Referee: Fabio Verissimo (Italy)
6 October 2017 Belgium  1–1  Sweden Heverlee, Belgium
19:00 CET Vanlerberghe 30' Report 61' Dagerstål Stadium: Den Dreef
Referee: Nikola Dabanović (Montenegro)
10 October 2017 Cyprus  0–2  Belgium Larnaca, Cyprus
16:00 CET Report 51' Lukebakio
90+3' Bastien		 Stadium: AEK Arena - Georgios Karapatakis
Referee: Kirill Levnikov (Russia)
9 November 2017 Belgium  3–2  Cyprus Heverlee, Belgium
19:00 CET Mbenza 15'
Dimata 45+2'
Leya Iseka 90+2'		 Report 49' Papageorgiou
75' Fragkou		 Stadium: Den Dreef
Referee: Enea Jorgji (Albania)
14 November 2017 Turkey  1–2  Belgium Istanbul, Turkey
15:00 CET Okutan 5' Report Merih Demiral 45+2' (o.g.)
Schrijvers 87'		 Stadium: Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Stadium
Referee: Tomasz Musiał (Poland)
26 March 2018 Belgium  3–0  Hungary Heverlee, Belgium
19:00 CET Schrijvers 19'
Lukebakio 64'
Dimata 72' (pen.)		 Report Stadium: Den Dreef
Referee: Erez Papir (Israel)
7 September 2018 Malta  0–4  Belgium Ta'Qali, Malta
16:00 CET Report Dimata 11'
Schrijvers 18'
Lukebakio 59'
Leya Iseka 69'		 Stadium: National Stadium
Referee: Roomer Tarajev (Estonia)
11 September 2018 Hungary  0–3  Belgium Budapest, Hungary
17:00 CET Report Dimata 20', 73' (pen.)
Schrijvers 86'		 Stadium: Szusza Ferenc Stadion
Referee: Tiago Martins (Portugal)
16 October 2018 Sweden  0–3  Belgium Kalmar, Sweden
17:00 CET Report Dimata 29', 40'
Lukebakio 65'		 Stadium: Fredriksskans
Referee: Frank Schneider (France)
15 November 2018 Romania  3–3  Belgium Cluj-Napoca, Romania
18:00 CET Drăguș 45' (pen.)
Olaru 90'
Ciobanu 90+1'		 Report Cools 35'
Leya 56'
Mbenza 58'		 Stadium: Dr. Constantin Rădulescu
Attendance: 5,000
Referee: Iulian Călin (Romania)
16 June 2019 Poland  3–2  Belgium Reggio Emilia, Italy
18:30 Żurkowski 26'
Bielik 52'
Szymański 79'		 Report Leya Iseka 16'
Cools 84'		 Stadium: Mapei Stadium–Città del Tricolore
Attendance: 2,534
Referee: István Kovács (Romania)
19 June 2019 Spain  2–1  Belgium Reggio Emilia, Italy
18:30 Olmo 7'
Fornals 89'		 Report Bornauw 24' Stadium: Mapei Stadium–Città del Tricolore
Attendance: 2,738
Referee: Andris Treimanis (Latvia)
22 June 2019 Belgium  1–3  Italy Reggio Emilia, Italy
21:00 Verschaeren 79'
Mbenza Red card 90+3'		 Report Barella 44'
Cutrone 53'
Chiesa 89'		 Stadium: Mapei Stadium–Città del Tricolore
Attendance: 20,075
Referee: Srđan Jovanović (Serbia)

Current squad

The following players were called up for the 2025 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification match against Kazakhstan Kazakhstan on 11 September 2023.

Note: Names in italics denote players that have been called up to the senior team.

Caps and goals correct as of 11 September 2023.

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1 1GK Maarten Vandevoordt (2002-02-26) 26 February 2002 12 0 Belgium Genk
12 1GK Senne Lammens (2002-07-07) 7 July 2002 5 0 Belgium Antwerp
2 2DF Richie Sagrado (2004-01-30) 30 January 2004 0 0 Belgium OH Leuven
3 2DF Jorne Spileers (2005-01-21) 21 January 2005 1 0 Belgium Club Brugge
4 2DF Koni De Winter (2002-06-12) 12 June 2002 15 0 Italy Genoa
5 2DF Killian Sardella (2002-05-02) 2 May 2002 8 1 Belgium Anderlecht
20 2DF Ignace Van Der Brempt (2002-04-01) 1 April 2002 13 1 Germany Hamburger SV
22 2DF Fedde Leysen (2003-07-09) 9 July 2003 0 0 Netherlands PSV Eindhoven
23 2DF Tuur Rommens (2003-03-26) 26 March 2003 0 0 Belgium Westerlo
6 3MF Mandela Keita (2002-05-10) 10 May 2002 8 0 Belgium Antwerp
8 3MF Aster Vranckx (captain) (2002-10-04) 4 October 2002 10 0 Germany VfL Wolfsburg
10 3MF Eliot Matazo (2002-02-15) 15 February 2002 13 0 France Monaco
11 3MF Luca Oyen (2003-03-14) 14 March 2003 2 0 Belgium Genk
16 3MF Arne Engels (2003-09-08) 8 September 2003 4 0 Germany FC Augsburg
15 3MF Mario Stroeykens (2004-09-29) 29 September 2004 1 0 Belgium Anderlecht
14 3MF Arthur Vermeeren (2005-02-07) 7 February 2005 1 0 Belgium Antwerp
7 4FW Malick Fofana (2005-03-31) 31 March 2005 1 0 Belgium Gent
9 4FW Romeo Vermant (2004-01-24) 24 January 2004 1 0 Belgium Club Brugge
18 4FW Kazeem Olaigbe (2003-01-02) 2 January 2003 1 1 Belgium Cercle Brugge
19 4FW Lucas Stassin (2004-11-29) 29 November 2004 1 0 Belgium Westerlo

Recent call-ups

The following players have been called up and remain eligible.

Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up
GK Tobe Leysen (2002-03-09) 9 March 2002 0 0 Belgium OH Leuven v.  Kazakhstan, 11 September 2023
DF Hugo Siquet (2002-07-09) 9 July 2002 14 0 Belgium Cercle Brugge 2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship
DF Zeno Debast (2003-10-24) 24 October 2003 4 0 Belgium Anderlecht 2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship
DF Ameen Al-Dakhil (2002-04-01) 1 April 2002 4 0 England Burnley 2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship
DF Daan Dierckx (2003-02-24) 24 February 2003 0 0 Belgium Standard Liège v.  Turkey, 3 September 2021
MF Christiaan Ravych (2002-07-30) 30 July 2002 0 0 Belgium Cercle Brugge v.  Kazakhstan, 11 September 2023
MF Jarne Steuckers (2002-02-04) 4 February 2002 0 0 Belgium Sint-Truiden v.  Kazakhstan, 11 September 2023
MF Roméo Lavia (2004-01-06) 6 January 2004 1 0 England Chelsea v.  Czech Republic, 23 March 2023
MF Marco Kana (2002-08-08) 8 August 2002 9 0 Belgium K.V. Kortrijk v.  France, 26 September 2022
MF Anouar Ait El Hadj (2002-04-20) 20 April 2002 4 0 Belgium Genk v.  Denmark, 29 March 2022
MF Tibo Persyn (2002-03-13) 13 March 2002 0 0 Netherlands FC Eindhoven v.  Turkey, 3 September 2021
FW Anthony Descotte (2003-08-03) 3 August 2003 4 0 Netherlands Utrecht 2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship
FW Ken Nkuba (2002-02-21) 21 February 2002 4 0 Belgium Charleroi v.  Czech Republic, 23 March 2023
FW Johan Bakayoko (2003-04-20) 20 April 2003 3 0 Netherlands PSV Eindhoven v.  Czech Republic, 23 March 2023
FW Jérémy Doku (2002-05-27) 27 May 2002 6 1 England Manchester City v.  France, 26 September 2022

Statistics

Most capped players
  Highlighted names denote a player still playing or available for selection.
# Name Career Caps Goals
1 Jean-François Gillet 1996–2002 36 0
2 Thomas Chatelle 1999–2003 28 4
Maarten Martens 2003–2007 28 7
4 Faris Haroun 2004–2008 24 4
5 Siebe Schrijvers 2016–2019 23 4
6 Tom De Mul 2004–2008 21 4
Wout Faes 2017–2020 21 0
Gunter Van Handenhoven 1997–1999 21 1
9 Jonathan Blondel 2002–2007 20 4
Éric Deflandre 1992–1995 20 1

Last updated: 22 June 2019
Source: Belgian Football Federation

Top goalscorers
  Highlighted names denote a player still playing or available for selection.
# Player Career Goals Caps Average
1 Loïs Openda 2019–2023 13 18 0.72
2 Kevin Vandenbergh 2003–2005 12 14 0.86
3 Cédric Roussel 1997–1999 10 12 0.83
4 Wesley Sonck 1997–1999 8 11 0.73
5 Michy Batshuayi 2012–2014 7 13 0.54
Landry Dimata 2016–2018 7 12 0.58
Maarten Martens 2003–2007 7 28 0.25
Ronny Martens 1978–1984 7 14 0.5
Sven Vermant 1993–1995 7 8 0.88
Jeanvion Yulu-Matondo 2005–2008 7 17 0.41

Last updated: 20 March 2019
Source: Belgian Football Federation

Honours
Winners (1): 2007–09
Runners-up (1): 2005–06

See also

References
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