The national team of Belgium brought very high-quality players to the football world championship in Brazil. The Belgians are growing up a talented generation of footballers, many of whom already occupy leading positions in the top clubs in Europe. It is no coincidence that the Belgians were called the hidden favorites of the tournament.
The Belgium national team was in Group H at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. The rivals of the Europeans were Russians, Algerians and South Koreans.
The Belgian team played the first match in the tournament against Algeria. Only in the second half the Europeans were able to reverse the outcome of the meeting, having won a strong-willed victory with a score of 2 - 1.
In the second match of the group stage, the Belgians in the last minutes upset the fans of the Russian national team. Belgium beat Russia with a minimum score of 1 - 0. This gave Wilmots' charges a good chance of reaching the playoffs from Group H from first place.
In the final match of the group stage, the Belgians beat South Korea 1 - 0. Thus, the Belgian players won three victories at the start of the world championship and from the first place in group H advanced to the 1/8 finals of the tournament.
The first opponents in the knockout match for the Belgians were the players of the US national team. In the Belgium - USA match, the audience did not see any goals in regulation time. Only in an additional thirty minutes did the Belgians manage to achieve a 2 - 1 victory.
In the quarterfinal match, the Belgian players faced the Argentines (future championship finalists). The Europeans conceded an early goal that was decisive in the match. Belgium lost 0 - 1 and dropped out of the tournament in the quarterfinals.
Getting the Belgians into the top eight teams in the World Cup can be considered a perfectly acceptable result for the Belgian football federation. A talented generation of Belgians has made a name for itself on the soccer fields in Brazil.
