When Belgium and France met on May 1st, 1904, this marked the first ever official international match for both countries. It was at the time the first ever official international football match between two countries on the European continent; it is true that Austria and Hungary met three times in 1902 and 1903, but at the time those encounters were seen as meetings between the two capitals of the Habsburg Doppelmonarchie, Vienna and Budapest – only later the Austrian and Hungarian FAs gave official status to these matches.
More than a century has passed since that first encounter, in which 77 more meetings have followed, making Belgium the most frequent opponents for les Blues while France are the second most frequent adversaries for les Diables Rouges; de Rode Duivels only played more often (129 times) against their northern neighbours in the Derby der Lage Landen.
That first meeting was drawn, after both teams had led during the match (Belgium 1-0 and 3-2, France 1-2) but the next two meetings settled the question of superiority: Belgium thrashed their southern neighbours 7-0 in Brussels before inflicting a 5-0 correction in Paris. That early dominance continued: before the Great War, France won only 2 matches, both by a single goal, while losing 7, generally by humiliating margins; in those first 11 encounters (one each year) Belgium chalked up 41 goals while conceding just 14.
Since then, Belgium have never relinquished their overall lead in le match sympatique; in fact, for more than a century they maintained their overall advantage of roughly 5 wins and about 30 goals already set in that first decade of meetings, but the gap is in danger of being closed following five successive losses since the 2018 World Cup; also, France won all meetings at final tournaments for the World Cup, European Championship and UEFA Nations League.
All matches listed are friendlies unless otherwise stated.
Game Date Venue Result Remark 1. 1- 5-1904 Brussel Belgium 3-3 France 2. 7- 5-1905 Brussel Belgium 7-0 France 3. 22- 4-1906 Paris France 0-5 Belgium 4. 21- 4-1907 Brussel Belgium 1-2 France 5. 12- 4-1908 Paris France 1-2 Belgium 6. 9- 5-1909 Brussel Belgium 5-2 France 7. 3- 4-1910 Paris France 0-4 Belgium 8. 30- 4-1911 Brussel Belgium 7-1 France 9. 28- 1-1912 Paris France 1-1 Belgium 10. 16- 2-1913 Brussel Belgium 3-0 France 11. 25- 1-1914 Lille France 4-3 Belgium 12. 9- 3-1919 Brussel Belgium 2-2 France 13. 28- 3-1920 Paris France 2-1 Belgium 14. 6- 3-1921 Brussel Belgium 3-1 France 15. 15- 1-1922 Paris France 2-1 Belgium 16. 25- 2-1923 Brussel Belgium 4-1 France 17. 13- 1-1924 Paris France 2-0 Belgium 18. 11-11-1924 Brussel Belgium 3-0 France 19. 11- 4-1926 Paris France 4-3 Belgium 20. 20- 6-1926 Brussel Belgium 2-2 France 21. 15- 4-1928 Paris France 2-3 Belgium 22. 26- 5-1929 Liège Belgium 4-1 France 23. 13- 4-1930 Paris France 1-6 Belgium 24. 25- 5-1930 Liège Belgium 1-2 France 25. 7-12-1930 Paris France 2-2 Belgium 26. 1- 5-1932 Brussel Belgium 5-2 France 27. 26- 3-1933 Paris France 3-0 Belgium 28. 21- 1-1934 Brussel Belgium 2-3 France 29. 14- 4-1935 Brussel Belgium 1-1 France 30. 8- 3-1936 Paris France 3-0 Belgium 31. 1- 2-1937 Brussel Belgium 3-1 France 32. 30- 1-1938 Paris France 5-3 Belgium 33. 5- 6-1938 Paris France 3-1 Belgium [World Cup] 34. 18- 5-1939 Brussel Belgium 1-3 France 35. 24-12-1944 Paris France 3-1 Belgium 36. 15-12-1945 Brussel Belgium 2-1 France 37. 1- 6-1947 Paris France 4-2 Belgium 38. 6- 6-1948 Brussel Belgium 4-2 France 39. 17-10-1948 Paris France 3-3 Belgium 40. 4- 6-1950 Brussel Belgium 4-1 France 41. 1-11-1950 Paris France 3-3 Belgium 42. 22- 5-1952 Brussel Belgium 1-2 France 43. 25-12-1952 Paris France 0-1 Belgium 44. 30- 5-1954 Brussel Belgium 3-3 France 45. 11-11-1954 Paris France 2-2 Belgium 46. 25-12-1955 Brussel Belgium 2-1 France 47. 11-11-1956 Paris France 6-3 Belgium [World Cup Qualifier] 48. 27-10-1957 Brussel Belgium 0-0 France [World Cup Qualifier] 49. 1- 3-1959 Paris France 2-2 Belgium 50. 28- 2-1960 Brussel Belgium 1-0 France 51. 15- 3-1961 Paris France 1-1 Belgium 52. 18-10-1961 Brussel Belgium 3-0 France 53. 25-12-1963 Paris France 1-2 Belgium 54. 2-12-1964 Brussel Belgium 3-0 France 55. 20- 4-1966 Paris France 0-3 Belgium 56. 11-11-1966 Brussel Belgium 2-1 France [European Champ. Qual.] 57. 28-10-1967 Nantes France 1-1 Belgium [European Champ. Qual.] 58. 15-11-1970 Brussel Belgium 1-2 France 59. 12-10-1974 Brussel Belgium 2-1 France [European Champ. Qual.] 60. 15-11-1975 Paris France 0-0 Belgium [European Champ. Qual.] 61. 29- 4-1981 Paris France 3-2 Belgium [World Cup Qualifier] 62. 9- 9-1981 Brussel Belgium 2-0 France [World Cup Qualifier] 63. 31- 5-1983 Luxembourg Belgium 1-1 France 64. 16- 6-1984 Nantes France 5-0 Belgium [European Championship] 65. 28- 6-1986 Puebla France 4-2 Belgium [aet] [World Cup] 66. 25- 3-1992 Paris France 3-3 Belgium 67. 27- 3-1996 Brussel Belgium 0-2 France 68. 27- 5-1998 Casablanca France 1-0 Belgium [King Hassan II Tournament] 69. 18- 5-2002 Paris France 1-2 Belgium 70. 18- 2-2004 Brussel Belgium 0-2 France 71. 15-11-2011 Paris France 0-0 Belgium 72. 14- 8-2013 Brussel Belgium 0-0 France 73. 7- 6-2015 Paris France 3-4 Belgium 74. 10- 7-2018 S.Peterburg France 1-0 Belgium [World Cup] 75. 7-10-2021 Torino Belgium 2-3 France [European Nations League] 76. 1- 7-2024 Düsseldorf France 1-0 Belgium [European Championship] 77. 9- 9-2024 Lyon France 2-0 Belgium [European Nations League] 78. 14-10-2024 Brussel Belgium 1-2 France [European Nations League]
Total record:
Belgium 78 30 19 29 163-136 79
France 78 29 19 30 136-163 77
Some more stats:
Pd B D F BG- FG
In Belgium: 36 20 7 9 88- 47
In France: 36 10 11 15 70- 78
Elsewhere: 6 0 1 5 5- 11
Belgium - List of International Matches
France - List of International Matches
Prepared and maintained by Karel Stokkermans for the Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation
Author: Karel Stokkermans
(karel.rsssf@gmail.com)
Last updated: 15 Oct 2024
(C) Copyright Karel Stokkermans and RSSSF 2011/24
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