"Le match sympathique"


Introduction
Official Matches
Overviews

Introduction

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 74 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, after having met France 75 times they still maintain their overall advantage of roughly 5 wins and about 30 goals already set in that first decade of meetings. However, France won all five meetings at final tournaments for the World Cups, European Championships and UEFA Nations League.


Official Matches

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]


Overviews


Total record:

Belgium              75 30 19 26 162-131  79
France               75 26 19 30 131-162  71

Some more stats:

                     Pd  B  D  F  BG- FG

In Belgium:          35 20  7  8  87- 45
In France:           35 10 11 14  70- 76
Elsewhere:            5  0  1  4   5- 10


Belgium - List of International Matches
France - List of International Matches


About this document

Prepared and maintained by Karel Stokkermans for the Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation

Author: Karel Stokkermans
Last updated: 17 Oct 2023

(C) Copyright Karel Stokkermans and RSSSF 2011/23
You are free to copy this document in whole or part provided that proper acknowledgement is given to the author. All rights reserved.