Belgium at the FIFA World Cup goal. Champions Runners-up Third place Fourth place Belgium at the FIFA World Cup Belgium have appeared in the finals tournament of the FIFA World Cup on 13 occasions, the first being at the first FIFA World Cup in 1930 where they finished in 11th place. The inaugural FIFA World Cup final was officiated by Belgian referee John Langenus. Traditionally, Belgium's greatest rival is the Netherlands. The two countries have met each other twice in the history of the FIFA World Cup, with one win for Belgium (USA 1994) and one tie (France 1998). The team that has played the most
1978 FIFA World Cup deliberately sabotaging the Minella stadium's pitch to weaken Brazil's chances of success. For a list of all squads that appeared in the final tournament, see "1978 FIFA World Cup squads". With six goals, Mario Kempes is the top scorer in the tournament. In total, 102 goals were scored by 62 players, with three of them credited as own goals. In 1986, FIFA published a report that ranked all teams in each World Cup up to and including 1986, based on progress in the competition, overall results and quality of the opposition. The rankings for the 1978 tournament were as follows: