Anthem?

BELGIUM K.B.V.B./U.R.B.S.F.A. Avenue Houba de Strooper, 145 1020 Bruxelles Official Website (English available)

Can't honestly see them going on past the group stage.

SQUAD

Goalkeepers Filip De Wilde Ronald Gaspercic Geert De Vlieger.

Defenders Eric Deflandre Philippe Leonard Lorenzo Staelens Joos Valgaeren Eric Van Meir Jacky Peeters Nico Van Kerckhoven.

Midfielders Philippe Clement Bart Goor Mark Hendrikx Yves Vanderhaeghe Johan Walem Gert Verheyen Danny Boffin Mbo Mpenza Marc Wilmots

Strikers Toni Brogno Gilles De Bilde Emile Mpenza Luc Nilis Branko Strupar

GROUP MATCHES
Brussels 10.6.2000 (20.45) Belgium v Sweden (2-1)	Brussels 14.6.2000 (20.45) Belgium v Italy 0-2	Brussels 19.6.2000 (20.45) Belgium v Turkey 0-2

BELGIUM GO OUT AFTER GROUP STAGES

EURO 2000 TEAM STATISTICS
Team Stats
Games Played:	3
Red Cards :	1
Yellow Cards :	6
Shots On Target :	23
Shots Off Target :	26
Fouls Committed :	41
Fouled :	49
Corners Won :	20
Corners Against :	13

Player Stats
Goalkeepers
Player		Minutes Played	Goals Conceded	Clean Sheets	Shots Saved	Penalties Saved	Shootout Saves	Shootout Goals Conceded
1	Filip de Wilde	270	5	0	12	0	0	0
12	Gert de Vlieger	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
13	Frederic Herpoel	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Outfield
Player		Minutes Played	Goals Scored	Assists	Red Cards	Yellow Cards	Shots on Target	Shots off Target	Fouls Committed	Fouls Against
2	Eric Deflandre	270	0	0	0	0	0	1	4	2
3	Joos Valgaeren	270	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	1
4	Lorenzo Staelens	270	0	0	0	0	1	1	5	1
5	Phillippe Clement	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
6	Yves Vanderhaege	270	0	0	0	1	2	0	3	8
7	Marc Wilmots	270	0	0	0	1	6	1	3	7
8	Bart Goor	239	1	0	0	0	5	2	5	2
9	Emile Mpenza	270	1	0	0	1	4	7	3	3
10	Branko Strupar	152	0	1	0	0	1	4	4	3
11	Gert Verheyen	217	0	0	0	1	1	1	4	9
14	Johan Walem	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
15	Jacky Peeters	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1
16	Luc Nilis	132	0	0	0	1	3	3	2	4
17	Philippe Leonard	74	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	0
18	Nico van Kerckhoven	150	0	0	0	1	0	1	1	4
19	Eric van Meir	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
20	Gilles de Bilde	13	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0
21	Mbo Mpenza	23	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1
22	Marc Hendrikx	77	0	0	0	0	0	3	2	2

19th June 2000

Belgian keeper Filip De Wilde cut a forlorn figure as the co-hosts crashed out of Euro 2000 at the hands of first-time winner Turkey Monday.

De Wilde, guilty of a glaring mistake in Belgium's opening 2-1 win over Sweden, made an even more calamitous error in the last minute of the first half against the Turks. His misjudgment allowed striker Hakan Sukur to score a goal from which the Belgians never recovered.

Then, with Belgium trailing 2-0 in front of its home fans, De Wilde was ejected for taking out Turkey's Arif Erdem as he rushed from his area.

"We are deeply disappointed and for me personally it's terrible. I've made two bad mistakes in three games. That's too many," a visibly shaken De Wilde said.

De Wilde failed to come off his line for a high ball lobbed into the box in the 48th minute of the first half. As the ball bounced, Sukur got to it first and nodded it home.

He refused to be drawn as to whether the end of Belgium's Euro 2000 dream also marked the end of his international career.

"The red card was deserved. I'll be suspended for the next game anyway and if the coach wants to keep faith with whoever comes in, that's his decision.

"It's not the right moment to make any hasty decisions about my future, we'll see what happens," the Anderlecht keeper said.

"I made a terrible error. I should have come more quickly for the ball. I needed to put in a perfect performance for us to qualify, but there's no point dwelling on it."

Disappointed Belgian coach Robert Waseige refused to blame his unfortunate keeper.

"I'm completely behind our goalkeeper. What he did against Sweden was a bit silly. In this case there's not much he could have done. Hakan Sukur has great timing," Waseige told a news conference.

De Wilde's teammates also rallied round him.

"Of course people will say it was his mistake that cost us the game," said winger Gert Verheyen. "But it's just one of those situations where the ball bounces up high and the striker has the advantage."

The keeper's disappointment was all the more pronounced as he felt his teammates had done enough to get Belgium through to the knockout stage.

"It's a shame we can't continue. With the football we played, we deserve to be in the next round.

"We know we're not a top team, but we've shown we can get good results through hard work, and we've entertained the public with some attractive football."

Nando

11th June 2000

Nice one son, says Belgium ace
June 10, 2000

Belgium's first scorer Bart Goor was delighted with his side's 2-1 victory over Sweden in a thrilling opening match to Euro 2000 on Saturday.
"It was a very difficult game," said Goor. "We worked very hard. We did not start too well and we were a little bit nervous. We had a lot of problems with Sweden's long ball game.
"Kennet Andersson was always a great threat to our defence. Then after half an hour we started to get a grip on the game and the timing of my goal was perfect, just before half-time.
"After an ideal start to the second half with that quick goal by Mpenza, Sweden gave us a lot of problems. But we worked hard to reestablish our grip on the game.
"I was really pleased with my goal."
Goor said his goal was a present for his recently born son Robert.
At the end of Belgium's victory goalkeeper Filip De Wilde put his hands together and thanked God his team had held on in a match that kick-started Euro 2000 into life.

(courtesy of sports.com)

Love-hate relationship with Belgium driving me mad

WELL, they may not have won on Wednesday, but the Rode Duivels get better and better. At the King Thingy Stadium in Brussels, where they are playing all their group B matches, Belgium were something between a fox and a steamroller, which is a hard trick to pull off, and makes it all the more dismaying that they didn't win. Or score.
Italy, who spent most of the match desperately interposing their bodies between Belgium and the goal, somehow came out with a 2-0 victory, a lot of football-shaped bruises, and a look of happy disbelief. With their six points, the Azzurri are virtually through to the quarter-finals, lucky chaps, whereas Belgium now have a match with Turkey on Monday to decide their fate.

The weather broke yesterday, which seemed significant. The past week has been warm and sunny mostly, reflecting the optimistic mood; yesterday I woke up in Antwerp to find a grey sky and subdued atmosphere. Still, the good-natured fans at the stadium on Wednesday did not berate their team for losing, but instead cheered their effort and dispersed. The only sign of emotion I saw was in a car afterwards. Three chaps in Belgium shirts were in the back, the one in the middle inconsolable, his head in his hands. When I realised his mates had spotted me looking, I didn't look again. Perhaps he had some other cause for grief? But I can't help thinking Belgium's eleven fruitless shots on target might have had something to do with it.

What was impressive about Belgium, you see, was their adaptability. Each time a tactic failed, they just flipped the chart over on the easel, drew some lines and tried a new one. Italy were the obstacle, marked with an X, and Belgium had a box of matches, a length of rope, six shovels, a slinky spring and a crossbow. Out on the field, it was a matter of yelling "Plan C!" and charging off again.

But ingenuity was not rewarded. Two displays of individual skill from Italy put paid to them. Stefano Fiore's goal in the 66th minute, an hour after Francesco Totti's header in the sixth, was astonishing. His tousle-haired team-mate, Alessandro Del Piero, had been on the pitch only three minutes, and the goal was made between them. Fiore raced forward, transacted a nifty uno duo with Del Piero, and scored from 25 yards. At which point, the game was beyond Belgium.

Plan H, incidentally, was occasionally to scare everybody in the stadium by leaving Filip de Wilde, the goalkeeper, all on his own in defence and see what he made of it. Having a bit of dignity to make up after his blunder in the Sweden game, De Wilde had opportunities to take on Del Piero man-to-man 20 yards from the goal (success!) and generally to run about tackling people, leaving the goal wide open and people screaming with horror. But he was vindicated, mostly, and joins the ranks of refreshingly good goalkeepers in Euro 2000. In the fifth minute he blocked Maldini's shot and then saved the rebound by Totti. He'll be catching bullets between his teeth next.

Sorry to keep banging on about Belgium, but from expecting nothing of them a week ago, I have become attached. It's nice when a reviled team search for the heroes inside themselves and actually find it. Robert Waseige, the coach, who recently replaced the disastrous Georges Leekens, has performed some sort of miracle.

People keep explaining to me that I like Belgium because they are clones of Wimbledon in their heyday - tough, resourceful, no fancy footwork, just tire out the opposition and never say die. It could be true. I think, too, that I like the idea of cheering up Belgium with a bit of footie success. People don't laugh much here, you know. Smile at people on the tram and they generally look quite alarmed.

There are times when I don't love the Belgians, of course, usually when I'm attempting to locate a stadium, navigate a route out of town at midnight, or buy petrol after 10.30pm. On Monday night, the deserted town of Liège turned into my living grave as I drove in maddening loops the wrong side of the river with the petrol running out. I can understand why the authorities have concealed the stadiums, so that the public will travel straight to the car parks. But why they would want to conceal the routes to big cities, causing normally even-tempered women to scream, "now I'm lost again you bastards", is a mystery I have not yet plumbed.

Lynn Truss, The Times