The EMF Nations Games 2025 à Košice, Slovakia, have come to an end, and our Belgian National Mini-Football Team returns to his homeland with his head held high after an exceptional run that culminated in a deserving 4th place. Our Red Devils have shown that they are now one of Europe's finest nations.
An Inspiring Journey: Group winners!
In the group phase, Belgium made their mark by finishing top of the table. top of Group B, ahead of Hungary and Poland.
- Belgium 2 - 1 Poland.
- Belgium 2 - 2 Hungary.
First place propelled us directly into the semi-finals, guaranteeing a historic ranking and underlining the quality of the work carried out by coach Karim Bachar and his staff.
End of the road against the elite
Our dream of reaching the final was shattered by the tournament's toughest team, the’Azerbaijan.
❌ Semi-Final: The Azerbaijani obstacle
In the semi-final, Belgium lost by the score of 0-2 against Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan, one of the world powers in the discipline, showed their superiority by managing the match perfectly. Azerbaijan went on to reach the Final, losing to hosts Slovakia in a memorable penalty shoot-out (2-2, 3-2 tab).
🥉 Match for 3rd place: Bitter defeat
In the third-place play-off, the Diables Rouges met up with their group rivals, France. Hungary. Despite their best efforts, our players were unable to finish on top of the podium, losing out in the end. 4-2. This defeat leaves us just off the podium, but it shouldn't detract from our overall performance.
«We're obviously disappointed not to bring home a medal. But if you take a step back, being in the final four of a competition of this level is an achievement for Belgian mini-football. We beat Poland and held off Hungary in the group stage. Losing to Azerbaijan and then Hungary in the classification matches proves that we are there, on the doorstep of the European Top 3. We have a solid base for the future. - Luiz Aranha, National Coach.
We would like to congratulate the winner, the Slovakia, and Azerbaijan and Hungary for their rankings.
Belgian mini-football proved its worth in Košice. We are proud of this 4th place and we're already focused on the next international challenges!