Wikipedia

Belgium men's national field hockey team

The Belgian national men's field hockey team represents Belgium in international men's field hockey and is controlled by the Royal Belgian Hockey Association, the governing body for field hockey in Belgium.[2][3][4]

Belgium
Belgium
Nickname(s)Red Lions
AssociationRoyal Belgian Hockey Association
ConfederationEHF (Europe)
Head CoachMichel van den Heuvel
Assistant coach(es)Shane McLeod
Xavier Reckinger
ManagerEric Pirenne
CaptainFélix Denayer
Home
Away
FIH ranking
Current 4 Decrease 1 (13 August 2024)[1]
Highest1 (December 2018 – June 2019, January 2020 – June 2021)
Lowest14 (2003–04)
Olympic Games
Appearances16 (first in 1920)
Best result1st (2020)
World Cup
Appearances7 (first in 1973)
Best result1st (2018)
European Championship
Appearances18 (first in 1970)
Best result1st (2019)
Medal record
Event 1st 2nd 3rd
Olympic Games 1 1 1
World Cup 1 1 0
European Championship 1 2 3
Hockey World League 0 1 0
Pro League 1 2 1
Total 4 7 5
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2020 Tokyo Team
Silver medal – second place 2016 Rio de Janeiro Team
Bronze medal – third place 1920 Antwerp Team
World Cup
Gold medal – first place 2018 Bhubaneswar
Silver medal – second place 2023 Bhubaneswar/Rourkela
European Championship
Gold medal – first place 2019 Antwerp
Silver medal – second place 2013 Boom
Silver medal – second place 2017 Amstelveen
Bronze medal – third place 2007 Manchester
Bronze medal – third place 2021 Amstelveen
Bronze medal – third place 2023 Mönchengladbach
Hockey World League
Silver medal – second place 2014–15 Raipur

Belgium won the Men's Hockey World Cup in 2018, the European Championship in 2019, the 2020-21 FIH Pro League and the gold medal at 2020 Tokyo Olympics. They also won a silver medal at the 2023 Bhubaneswar & Rourkela and 2016 Rio de Janeiro and a bronze medal at the 1920 Antwerp Summer Olympics. They reached eight semi-finals at the European Championship since 1995, including a third place in 2007 and runners-up in 2013 and 2017.

History

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Hockey was introduced in Belgium in 1902. The country's first club was founded in 1904. In 1907, several clubs established the Belgian Hockey Association. Belgium played its first international match against Germany, and was one of the founding members of the International Hockey Federation (FIH).

Between 1920 and 1978, Belgium appeared in two of the first three World Cups and in eleven out of thirteen Summer Olympics. After the successful early years (before the 1950s) with three times being among the best five at the Summer Olympics, it would last six decades before Belgium reached the international field hockey top again from the 1990s on.

By the early 2000s, the Royal Belgian Hockey Association started to invest heavily in the youth and modernized its structures. In 2007, Belgium won the bronze medal at the European Championship, a first in the country's history. Belgium also qualified for the 2008 Summer Olympics, for the first time in 32 years.

Belgium won a silver medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics, a second medal after Belgium ended third at the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp. Two years later Belgium won the 2018 Hockey World Cup. It was the first major international title in the country's history. A year later Belgium won the gold medal at the European Championship which was held in Antwerp. They secured their second consecutive olympic medal through reaching the gold medal match at the 2020 Summer Olympics.

Honours

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Summer Olympics
  First place: 2020
  Second place: 2016
  Third place: 1920
World Cup
  First place: 2018
  Second place: 2023
European Championship
  First place: 2019
  Second place: 2013, 2017
  Third place: 2007, 2021, 2023
FIH Pro League
  First place: 2020–21
  Second place: 2019, 2021–22
Hockey World League
  Second place: 2014-15
Champions Challenge
  First place: 2011
  Third place: 2005
Belgian National Sports Merit Award
Winners: 1959, 2019
Belgian Sportsteam of the Year
Winners: 2012, 2016, 2018, 2019

Tournament history

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A red box around the year indicates a tournament played within Belgium.

Summer Olympics

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  Gold    Silver    Bronze    Fourth place

 
In 1920, Belgium's field hockey team won the bronze medal at home, at the Olympic Stadium in Antwerp.
Olympic Games record
Year Round Position Pld W D* L GF GA
  1908 did not participate
  1912 Not held
  1920 Bronze medal 3rd 3 1 0 2 6 19
  1924 Not held
  1928 Fourth place 4th 5 3 0 2 8 12
  1932 did not participate
  1936 Group phase 9th 3 0 2 1 5 8
  1948 Group phase 5th 4 2 0 2 6 8
  1952 Second round 9th 2 1 0 1 6 1
  1956 Group phase 7th 3 0 1 2 0 5
  1960 Group phase 11th 5 1 1 3 7 9
  1964 Group phase 11th 7 2 2 3 10 13
  1968 Group phase 9th 8 4 1 3 17 9
  1972 Group phase 10th 8 2 1 5 9 16
  1976 Group phase 9th 6 3 0 3 11 19
  1980 did not qualify
  1984
  1988
  1992
  1996
  2000
  2004
  2008 Group phase 9th 6 2 1 3 12 13
  2012 Group phase 5th 6 3 1 2 13 9
  2016 Runners-up 2nd 8 6 0 2 29 11
  2020 Champion 1st 8 6 2 0 35 13
  2024 Quarterfinals 5th 6 4 1 1 17 10
Total Best: Champion 16/26 88 40 13 35 291 173

World Cup

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Belgium captain Thomas Briels lifting the 2018 World Cup trophy

  Champions    Runners-up    Third place    Fourth place

FIH World Cup record
Year Round Position Pld W D* L GF GA
  1971 did not participate
  1973 Group phase 8th 5 2 0 3 8 12
  1975 did not participate
  1978 Group phase 14th 6 1 2 3 12 18
  1982 did not participate
  1986
  1990
  1994 Group phase 11th 5 0 1 4 6 26
  1998 did not qualify
  2002 Group phase 14th 7 0 0 7 7 23
  2006 did not qualify
  2010
  2014 5th–6th play-off 5th 6 4 0 2 21 13
  2018 Winners 1st 7 5 2 0 22 5
  2023 Runners-up 2nd 6 3 3 0 21 8
  /   2026 Qualified
Total Best: Winners 7/15 42 15 8 19 97 105

European Championship

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  Champions    Runners-up    Third place    Fourth place

European Championship Record
Year Round Position Pld W D* L GF GA
  1970 Second round 5th 7 6 0 1 18 7
  1974 Group phase 10th 6 2 1 3 7 9
  1978 did not participate
  1983 Group phase 8th 7 2 1 4 8 17
  1987 Group phase 10th 7 1 3 3 14 21
  1991 Group phase 9th 7 4 0 3 14 17
  1995 Fourth place 4th 7 3 2 2 12 8
  1999 Fourth place 4th 7 4 0 3 19 28
  2003 Group phase 6th 7 2 2 3 21 21
  2005 Fourth place 4th 5 1 1 3 6 20
  2007 Third place 3rd 5 2 2 1 16 14
  2009 Group phase 5th 5 3 0 2 22 11
  2011 Fourth place 4th 5 2 0 3 14 12
  2013 Runners-up 2nd 5 3 1 1 12 6
  2015 Group phase 5th 5 3 1 1 20 13
  2017 Runners-up 2nd 5 2 1 2 13 9
  2019 Winners 1st 5 5 0 0 22 2
  2021 Third place 3rd 5 3 1 1 19 10
  2023 Third place 3rd 5 4 0 1 17 8
Total 1 title 18/19 105 52 16 37 273 236

FIH Pro League

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  Champions    Runners-up    Third place    Fourth place

FIH Pro League record
Year Round Position Pld W D* L GF GA
  2019 Runners-up 2nd 16 9 3 4 57 33
2020–21 Winners 1st 14 9 3 2 40 26
2021–22 Runners-up 2nd 16 10 4 2 52 25
2022–23 Third place 3rd 16 10 0 6 42 37
2023–24 Fifth place 5th 16 7 2 7 41 39
Total Best: Winners 5/5 78 45 12 21 232 160

Hockey World League (defunct)

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  Winners    Runners-up    Third place    Fourth place

Hockey World League record
Year Position Round Pld W D* L GF GA
2012–13 5th Round 2 5 5 0 0 44 6
Semifinal 6 4 2 0 18 9
Final 6 1 2 3 9 10
2014–15 2nd Semifinal 7 5 1 1 21 8
Final 6 3 1 2 14 9
2016–17 5th Semifinal 7 6 0 1 37 8
Final 5 4 0 1 15 5
Total Best: 2nd Final 42 28 6 8 158 55

Champions Trophy (defunct)

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  Winners    Runners-up    Third place    Fourth place

Champions Trophy record
Year Round Position Pld W D* L GF GA
  1978
until
  2011 		did not participate
  2012 First round 5th 6 2 0 4 15 16
  2014 Second round 8th 6 1 3 2 13 15
  2016 Second round 5th 6 2 2 2 13 15
  2018 Second round 5th 6 1 4 1 12 15
Total Best: 5th place 4/37 24 6 9 9 53 61

Champions Challenge (defunct)

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  Winners    Runners-up    Third place    Fourth place

Champions Challenge record
Year Round Position Pld W D* L GF GA
  2001 5th–6th play-off 6th 6 0 0 6 6 18
  2003 did not participate
  2005 Third place 3rd 9 6 2 1 26 17
  2007 5th–6th play-off 6th 6 1 1 4 13 21
  2009 7th–8th play-off 7th 5 2 0 3 13 9
  2011 Winners 1st 6 4 2 0 22 12
  2012 did not participate
  2014
Total Best: Winners 5/8 32 13 5 14 80 77
*Draws include matches decided on a penalty shoot-out.

Team

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Current squad

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The following 19 players were named on 6 July 2024 in the final squad for the 2024 Summer Olympics.[5]

Caps updated as of 4 August 2024, after the match against Spain.

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) CapsClub
2 GK Loic Van Doren (1996-09-14) 14 September 1996 (age 27) 59   Dragons
21 GK Vincent Vanasch (1987-12-21) 21 December 1987 (age 36) 288   Orée
4 DF Arthur Van Doren (1994-10-01) 1 October 1994 (age 29) 247   Braxgata
12 DF Gauthier Boccard (1991-08-26) 26 August 1991 (age 32) 303   Léopold
16 DF Alexander Hendrickx (1993-08-06) 6 August 1993 (age 31) 198   Gantoise
23 DF Arthur De Sloover (1997-05-03) 3 May 1997 (age 27) 167   Oranje-Rood
25 DF Loïck Luypaert (1991-08-19) 19 August 1991 (age 32) 315   Braxgata
29 DF Maxime Van Oost (1999-12-02) 2 December 1999 (age 24) 46   Waterloo Ducks
7 MF John-John Dohmen (1988-01-24) 24 January 1988 (age 36) 481   Orée
19 MF Félix Denayer (Captain) (1990-01-31) 31 January 1990 (age 34) 402   Dragons
24 MF Antoine Kina (1996-02-13) 13 February 1996 (age 28) 126   Gantoise
26 MF Victor Wegnez (1995-12-25) 25 December 1995 (age 28) 175   Waterloo Ducks
31 MF Arno Van Dessel (2003-07-03) 3 July 2003 (age 21) 40   Herakles
3 FW Thibeau Stockbroekx (2000-07-20) 20 July 2000 (age 24) 45   Oranje-Rood
8 FW Florent Van Aubel (1991-10-25) 25 October 1991 (age 32) 301   Pinoké
10 FW Cédric Charlier (1987-11-27) 27 November 1987 (age 36) 381   Racing
13 FW Nicolas De Kerpel (1993-03-23) 23 March 1993 (age 31) 129   Herakles
27 FW Tom Boon (1990-01-25) 25 January 1990 (age 34) 354   Léopold
30 FW Nelson Onana (2000-03-01) 1 March 2000 (age 24) 41   Léopold

Recent call-ups

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The following players have been called up for the national team in the last 12 months.

Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Club Latest call-up
GK Simon Vandenbroucke (1999-06-06) 6 June 1999 (age 25) 9   Waterloo Ducks v.   Germany, 18 February 2024
GK Boris Feldheim (2002-04-01) 1 April 2002 (age 22) 0   Racing v.   Germany, 18 February 2024
DF Olivier Biekens (1999-05-14) 14 May 1999 (age 25) 9   Braxgata v.   Netherlands, 25 June 2024
DF Emmanuel Stockbroekx (1993-12-23) 23 December 1993 (age 30) 197   Orée v.   Germany, 18 February 2024
DF Nicolas Poncelet (1996-09-19) 19 September 1996 (age 27) 40   Léopold v.   Germany, 18 February 2024
DF Guillaume Van Marcke (1999-12-28) 28 December 1999 (age 24) 3   Waterloo Ducks v.   Germany, 18 February 2024
DF Maxime Loots (1998-02-18) 18 February 1998 (age 26) 5   Braxgata v.   Argentina, 17 February 2024
MF Tobias Biekens (2001-01-02) 2 January 2001 (age 23) 12   Braxgata v.  Ireland, 26 May 2024
MF Guillermo Hainaut (2002-06-08) 8 June 2002 (age 22) 8   Uccle Sport v.   India, 23 May 2024
MF Jérémy Wilbers (2001-11-06) 6 November 2001 (age 22) 3   Waterloo Ducks v.   Germany, 18 February 2024
MF Charlie Van Damme (2001-08-10) 10 August 2001 (age 23) 3   Herakles v.   Germany, 18 February 2024
FW Tanguy Cosyns (1991-06-29) 29 June 1991 (age 33) 180   Racing v.   Spain, 1 June 2024
FW William Ghislain (1999-07-28) 28 July 1999 (age 25) 39   Waterloo Ducks v.   Spain, 1 June 2024
FW Tommy Willems (1997-04-13) 13 April 1997 (age 27) 21   Waterloo Ducks v.   Ireland, 26 May 2024
FW Roman Duvekot (2000-06-21) 21 June 2000 (age 24) 7   Gantoise v.   Germany, 18 February 2024
FW Thomas Crols (2003-09-11) 11 September 2003 (age 20) 5   Dragons v.   Germany, 18 February 2024
FW Dylan Englebert (2000-04-20) 20 April 2000 (age 24) 5   Léopold v.   Germany, 18 February 2024
FW Guillaume Hellin (2001-05-28) 28 May 2001 (age 23) 5   Gantoise v.   Germany, 18 February 2024
FW Emile Esquelin (1999-08-28) 28 August 1999 (age 24) 5   Gantoise v.   Germany, 18 February 2024

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "FIH Outdoor World Hockey Rankings". FIH. 13 August 2024. Retrieved 13 August 2024.
  2. ^ Jonckheere, Karien. "Newly crowned hockey champs Belgium's SA connection". SuperSport. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
  3. ^ "Craig Fulton helps guide Belgium to maiden hockey World Cup". www.irishtimes.com. 16 December 2018. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
  4. ^ "Fulton's pride shines as the Red Lions claim World Cup crown". www.independent.ie. 17 December 2018. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
  5. ^ "Olympische selecties officieel aangekondigd door Team Belgium". hockey.be (in Dutch). Royal Belgian Hockey Association. 6 July 2024.
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