Belguim - Group E
Blessed with the most gifted generation of players Belgium have ever seen, it remains to be seen whether or not Marc Wilmots can convert a team of star individuals into a team who'll win tournaments.
Get to know: Belgium
Belgium finished their qualification campaign 5 points ahead of Bosnia and 2 points clear of Wales in second place to book their place at Euro 2016. Unbeaten in 5 matches at home, Belgium made light work of the weaker teams in their Group and their defence never conceded more than one goal in any of their 10 qualification matches.
In the group stages, they won 7 games, drew 2 and lost 1, scoring 24 goals, conceding 5 and ending up with a +19 goal difference.
In the draw for the main event, Belgium were placed in Group E, alongside Italy, Republic of Ireland and the Sweden.
Fixtures:
June 13 vs. Italy 7pm – Parc Olympique Lyonnais, Lyon
June 18 vs. Republic of Ireland 1pm – Nouveau Stade de Bordeaux, Bordeaux
June 22 vs. Sweden 7pm – Allianz Riviera, Nice
Goal scorers:
During qualification, the Belgium scored 24 goals
Their goal scorers were:
- Kevin De Bruyne (5)
- Eden Hazard (5)
- Marouane Fellaini (4)
- Dries Mertens (3)
- Radja Nainggolan (2)
- Divock Origi (1)
- Laurent Depoitre (1)
- Nacer Chadli (1)
- Christian Benteke (1)
- Michy Batshuayi (1)
Qualification Stat Truths:
- Scored at the joint-third highest rate: 24 goals in 10 games.
- Shot the third most frequently: 15.8 per game.
- Faced shots the least frequently: 5.3 per game.
- One of only two sides to outshoot their opponents in every qualifying match.
- Scored the most goals from outside the box during qualifying (8) and the highest percentage (33.3%).
- Second worst shot conversion against in the first half of matches of any side at the finals (17.6%).
- One of four sides at the finals not to have conceded more than once in a match during qualifying.
- Fouled less often than any other qualifier (8.2 times per match).
All data based on Belgium’s Euro 2016 qualification campaign. Courtesy of the Press Association.