By Jean-Pierre Thiesset (22/06/2025)
Above: The Red Flames’ line up against Spain. Photo: @BelRedFlames on X.
The Belgium women’s national football team is known as ‘the Red Flames’. Ranked 20th in the world, they will be hoping for a big summer.
Squad
Goalkeepers: Femke Bastiaen (FC Utrecht), Nicky Evrard (PSV), Lisa Lichtfus (Le Havre).
Defenders: Janice Cayman (Leicester City), Laura Deloose (Anderlecht), Isabelle Iliano (Club Brugge), Jill Janssens (Hoffenheim), Sari Kees (Leicester City), Zenia Mertens (OH Leuven), Davina Philtjens (Sassuolo), Amber Tysiak (West Ham United).
Midfielders: Tine de Caigny (Anderlecht), Marie Detruyer (Inter Milan), Elena Dhont (Sassuolo), Kassandra Missipo (Sassuolo), Jarne Teulings (Feyenoord Rotterdam), Justine Vanhaevermaet (Everton), Sarah Wijnants (Anderlecht).
Forwards: Jassina Blom (Tenerife), Hannah Eurlings (OH Leuven), Mariam Abdulai Toloba (Nantes), Ella Van Kerkhoven (Feyenoord Rotterdam), Tessa Wullaert (Inter Milan).
Head Coach
Elisabet Gunnarsdottir was born on October 2, 1976 in Reykjavik, Iceland. She was named head coach of Belgium in January 2025.
Gunnarsdottir got her start in coaching at the age of 16 when she joined the youth program at Valur FC, Iceland, as an assistant coach. For nine years she coached different age groups at the club and played a big part in building one of the most organized and successful youth programs on the women’s side in Iceland.
At the age of 24 years, she became the youngest female to work as head coach in the highest division in Iceland.
Euros History
Women’s Euros best: Quarterfinals (2022).
How they qualified
Came third in group A2 alongside Czechia, Spain, and Denmark. In the playoffs, they beat Greece by an aggregated 5-0, and 4-1 vs Ukraine.
Strengths
Over the last few years, the Red Flames have made significant progress. At Euro 2022, the Flames made history by reaching the quarterfinals of this competition for the first time. Increasing numbers of players play in big leagues like England, Germany, Spain, France, and Italy, bringing experience against many of Europe’s top players to the table.
Development Areas
The lack of international experiences as a team is something Red Flames must overcome to progress.
Key Players
Tessa Wullaert was born on March 19, 1993, in Belgium. She has amassed the second-highest number of caps (142) for the Belgium National Team. She is her country’s highest goalscorer of all-time with 90 goals. Wullaert has won league titles in Belgium and Germany, plus the English FA Cup. She is integral to the Red Flames’ attacking play, as recently seen against England: without Wullaert, they stumbled to a 5-0 loss, whilst with Wullaert (and admittedly with England missing key players through injury), they won 3-2.
Janice Cayman: Midfielder, Forward or Defender
Janice Cayman was born on October 12, 1988 (36 years old) and plays as an attacking midfielder for Women’s Super League club Leicester City, which she captains, and the Belgium National team. She is Belgium’s most-capped female player of all-time with 155 caps. Her polyvalence is her main asset because Janice, trained as forward when she was young, can also play as midfielder and even as defender.
One to watch
Marie Detruyer : Midfielder
Marie Detruyer was born on January 13, 2004 – at 21 years old, she is one of the youngest members of the squad.
When she was 10 years old, she took part in a training session where she was spotted by Michaël De Meyst, former Eendracht Aalst player and youth coach. Impressed by what she could do with a ball, she was used in videos to show technical exercises. She won the Pro League Awards Women’s Player of the 2024-2025 season and will be looking to make her mark on her first senior major tournament.
Success would be
Progress out of the group stage.
Prediction
Handed a difficult group consisting of World Champions Spain, Portugal, and Italy – two of whom Belgium have also faced in this year’s UEFA Nations League, it is unlikely they will escape the group phase.
Group Fixtures
3rd July – Italy, Stade de Tourbillon, Sion, 6pm UK time
7th July – Belgium, Arena Thun, 5pm UK time
11th July – Portugal, Stade de Tourbillon, Sion, 8pm UK time
This is the latest part of our Euros nation previews – click on the links below to view the previous articles:
SWITZERLAND: https://impetusfootball.org/2025/06/16/euros-preview-switzerland-2/
NORWAY: https://impetusfootball.org/2025/06/17/euros-preview-norway/
FINLAND: https://impetusfootball.org/2025/06/18/euros-preview-finland-2/
ICELAND: https://impetusfootball.org/2025/06/19/euros-preview-iceland-2/
SPAIN: https://impetusfootball.org/2025/06/20/euros-preview-spain-2/
PORTUGAL: https://impetusfootball.org/2025/06/21/euros-preview-portugal/
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