Group E | Cup Highlights |  Schedule | Roster | Road to France | Facts and Figures

Belgium Fails to Advance For 1st Time in 28 Years
In a game that ended up being meaningless for both teams, Belgium and South Korea tied at 1-1 on June 25. Belgium needed to beat South Korea and have the Netherlands beat Mexico — to advance to the next round.

From AP

JUNE 13: Belgium, Netherlands Play to Scoreless Tie
JUNE 20: Belgians Wilt in Heat After Costly Penalty
JUNE 25: South Korea Rallies to Tie Belgium
More AP Stories

World Cup Highlights

10th appearance (1930, '34, '38, '54, '70, '82, '86, '90, '94 and '98) in the World Cup finals
Fourth in 1986 World Cup
Finalist 1980 European championships

First-Round Results

Day, Time (EDT) Opponent Site Saturday, June 13 Netherlands 0, Belgium 0 Saint-Denis Saturday, June 20 Belgium 2, Mexico 2 Bordeaux Thursday, June 25 South Korea 1, Belgium 1 Paris

Complete First-Round Results

Roster

Pos. Name Age Club GK Filip De Wilde 33 Anderlecht GK Philippe Van De Walle 36 Eendracht Aalst GK Dany Verlinden 34 Club Bruges D Vital Borkelmans 34 Club Bruges D Bertrand Crasson 26 Napoli D Glen De Boeck 26 Anderlecht D Eric Deflandre 24 Club Bruges D Eric Van Meir 30 Lierse D Mike Verstraeten 30 Germinal Ekeren D Lorenzo Staelens 33 Club Bruges D Gordan Vidovic 29 Excelsior Mouscron M Danny Boffin 32 FC Metz M Enzo Scifo 32 Anderlecht M Franky Van der Elst 36 Club Bruges M Nico Van Kerckhoven 27 Lierse M Marc Wilmots 29 Schalke 04 M Philippe Clement 24 Genk F Lokonda Mpenza 19 Standard Liege F Mbo Mpenza 21 Standard Liege F Luc Nilis 30 PSV Eindhoven F Luis Oliveira 29 Fiorentina F Gert Verheyen 27 Club Bruges

Road to France

Won Lost Tied GF GA 7 2 1 23 13 How Qualified: Second place in UEFA Group 7, defeated Ireland in playoff

Date Result Aug. 31, 1996 Belgium 2, Turkey 1 Oct. 9, 1996 Belgium 3, San Marino 0 Dec. 14, 1996 Netherlands 3, Belgium 0 Mar. 29, 1997 Belgium 2, Wales 1 Apr. 30, 1997 Belgium 3, Turkey 1 June 7, 1997 Belgium 6, San Marino 0 Sept. 6, 1997 Netherlands 3, Belgium 1 Oct. 11, 1997 Belgium 3, Wales 2 UEFA Ssecond-Place Playoff   Oct. 29, 1997 Belgium 1, Ireland 1 Nov. 15, 1997 Belgium 2, Ireland 1

Facts and Figures

Knight-Ridder/Tribune
Location: Western Europe, bordering the North Sea, between France and the Netherlands
Population: 10.1 million (1995 estimate)
Capital: Brussels
Comparative area: Slightly larger than Maryland
Religions: Roman Catholic 75 percent, Protestant or other 25 percent
Landscape: Flat coastal plains in northwest, central rolling hills, rugged mountains of Ardennes Forest in southeast