Belgium convincingly defeated Luxembourg and stayed alongside Scotland at the top of Group B4
The Belgian women’s national football team recorded one of the most convincing victories of the fifth round of European qualifiers for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup, defeating Luxembourg 6:0 in Group B4 of League B. According to UEFA’s official results overview, the match was played on Friday, 5 June 2026, as part of the fifth round of the league phase of qualifying, and with the victory the Belgian national team confirmed the difference in quality and stayed in touch with Scotland at the top of the group. According to UEFA’s match data and the Belgian Football Association’s event information, the encounter was played at Den Dreef stadium in Leuven, in the evening slot from 20:15. UEFA stated in its official summary of the standings after the fifth round that Belgium, after this victory, have 11 points, the same as Scotland, while Luxembourg remained without a point and without any possibility of qualifying for the play-offs.
The 6:0 result clearly describes the balance of power in a match in which Belgium had the obligation to confirm their status as favourites. Luxembourg had already had major problems in qualifying in a group with Belgium, Scotland and Israel, and the new heavy defeat further underlined the difference between national teams fighting for the top of League B and a side that, at this stage of the competition, remained at the bottom. According to UEFA’s current overview of Group B4, Belgium have already secured participation in the play-offs and safety outside the relegation zone, while Luxembourg have officially remained without a chance of reaching the play-offs and their relegation from League B has been confirmed. This made the match in Leuven important not only because of the three points, but also because of Belgium’s overall position ahead of the final round.
Belgium settled the match in Leuven without complications
Belgium entered the encounter with a clear competitive task: to defeat a national team that had until then been without a point and, in doing so, maintain the best possible position in relation to Scotland. According to UEFA’s official schedule and results, on the same day in Group B4 Scotland defeated Israel 6:0, so the Belgian victory by the same scoreline carries additional weight in the race for first place. Since Belgium and Scotland ended both of their head-to-head encounters in the group as draws, 1:1 in April and 0:0 in the return match, every convincing victory against the remaining two opponents has importance in the standings and in the psychological rhythm before the final match. UEFA lists Scotland and Belgium in the current group standings with 11 points each, while Israel are on six and Luxembourg on zero.
The match itself, according to the result and the context of the qualifiers, was confirmation that Belgium have a significantly broader attacking arsenal and greater stability in this group than Luxembourg. The Belgian national team, known by the nickname Red Flames, have shown in the qualifying campaign so far that against lower-ranked opponents they can maintain control and create a large goal difference. In five matches in Group B4, Belgium have, according to results published by UEFA, twice convincingly defeated Israel, drawn twice with Scotland, and against Luxembourg recorded their biggest victory in the closing stage of the league phase. Such a run explains why Belgium had already been confirmed before the final round among the national teams continuing the fight for the World Cup through the play-offs.
Luxembourg had no answer to Belgian pressure
Luxembourg arrived in Leuven as a national team for whom Group B4 had been extremely demanding. According to UEFA’s results overview, the Luxembourg national team lost to Scotland 0:5 and 0:7, to Israel 0:6 and 1:3, and against Belgium recorded another 0:6 defeat. Luxembourg’s only goal in the first five rounds came in the home defeat against Israel, which clearly shows that the team’s biggest problem was attacking output, but also the defence’s ability to withstand the pressure of physically stronger and technically higher-quality opponents. After the fifth round, UEFA announced that Luxembourg could no longer secure the play-offs and that their relegation from League B had been confirmed.
For Luxembourg, the final round will nevertheless not be without significance. According to UEFA’s schedule and the calendar of the Luxembourg Football Federation, on 9 June 2026 a new encounter between Luxembourg and Belgium follows, this time on Luxembourg soil. That match will not change the fact that Luxembourg have remained without prospects of continuing their qualifying path toward the World Cup, but it can serve as a measure of progress and an opportunity to reduce the gap compared with one of the leading national teams in the group. For Belgium, on the other hand, that encounter will be a direct opportunity to continue putting pressure on Scotland and try to finish the group in the best possible position.
Group B4 remains open at the top
The standings in Group B4 after the fifth round give the finale special tension. UEFA’s official overview of the situation lists Scotland and Belgium with 11 points each, Israel with six and Luxembourg without points. Scotland defeated Israel 6:0 in the same round, thereby keeping first place in UEFA’s group standings, while Belgium responded in the best possible way with the same result against Luxembourg. Since both leading national teams have already secured the play-offs and safe status outside the relegation zone, the final round brings a fight for prestige, but also for a better starting position in the complex play-off system.
In the final round, scheduled for Tuesday, 9 June 2026, UEFA has set the Group B4 matches Luxembourg – Belgium and Israel – Scotland, both starting at 19:00. For Belgium to take first place, they need to finish the day better than Scotland, while Scotland hold the advantage in the current standings listed by UEFA before the last round. Israel have already been confirmed in the play-offs, but cannot be promoted, while Luxembourg have remained outside all calculations for continuing the fight toward Brazil. Such a schedule means that the decision on the top of the group will be made in parallel, and every early change of score in one match can affect the approach of the other leading national team.
What the victory means for Belgium’s qualifying path
According to UEFA’s explanation of the competition system, the European qualifiers for the 2027 World Cup are organised through three leagues, and the results of the league phase simultaneously affect the path toward the World Cup and the future schedule in the UEFA Women’s Nations League. UEFA states that Europe has been allocated 11 places at the final tournament in Brazil, with the possibility for one more national team to qualify through the inter-confederation play-offs. The four group winners in League A go directly to the World Cup, while the remaining national teams fight through two rounds of European play-offs. In that system, national teams from League B cannot go directly to the final tournament through the league phase, but the top three places in the groups lead to the continuation of qualifying.
With the victory over Luxembourg, Belgium confirmed what was most important for them: they remain in contention for qualification for the World Cup through the play-offs and will not have to deal with the question of relegation to a lower tier. After the fifth round, UEFA specifically stated that Belgium and Scotland had been confirmed in the play-offs and were safe from relegation. For the Belgian national team, this means that the final round can be played with the competitive imperative of first place, but without the pressure of fighting for the minimum objective. Such a position is particularly important because the draw and the overall ranking of the European qualifiers will influence the further path toward Brazil.
Wullaert and Belgian quality in attack
One of the constants of the Belgian national team remains Tessa Wullaert, captain and the most recognisable name in the attacking line. In the player profile for these qualifiers, UEFA states that Wullaert had seven goals and two assists after five appearances in the cycle, which again made her one of the key Belgian players in the attacking phase. Ahead of the match against Luxembourg, the Belgian Football Association also announced that Wullaert received recognition on the pitch in Leuven for her sixth Golden Shoe, which further emphasises her status in Belgian women’s football. With such an individual pillar, Belgium have the profile of a national team that can punish weaker opponents, but also remain competitive in high-intensity matches, as the two draws against Scotland showed.
UEFA’s official list of players for the match in Leuven, updated on the day of the encounter, alongside Wullaert also lists a number of players who have already had an important role in this qualifying cycle, including Nicky Evrard, Janice Cayman, Kassandra Missipo, Marie Detruyer, Hannah Eurlings and other members of the Belgian squad. Belgium head coach Elísabet Gunnarsdóttir, according to UEFA’s list, leads the team in a cycle in which Belgium are expected to show stability, control against lower-ranked opponents and the ability to remain in the match against direct competitors. On the opposite side, UEFA lists Daniel Zirbes as Luxembourg’s head coach, for whom the end of this cycle brings the task of softening the consequences of a difficult group and preparing the team for a return to a more competitive tier.
Den Dreef as the stage for a qualifying evening
UEFA’s official match profile states that the encounter was played at Den Dreef stadium in Leuven, with partly cloudy weather, a temperature of 17 degrees and an assessment that the pitch was in excellent condition. The same source states that the main referee was Ana Maria Terteleac from Romania, assisted by Catalina Nan and Roxana Ivanov, with Iuliana Demetrescu as the fourth official. Such details confirm that the match had the full official framework of a UEFA competition, and Leuven once again served as the home base of the Belgian women’s national team for an important qualifying appearance. For visitors following future national-team matches in Leuven, accommodation offers in Leuven may be useful, especially when matches are played in evening slots.
In its sales information for the match, the Belgian Football Association listed Stadium Den Dreef as the venue of the encounter and the start at 20:15, which fits into the usual format of evening qualifying matches. Den Dreef is a stadium often used for matches of Belgian national selections outside the country’s largest football arenas, and for the women’s national team it represents an important space in which continuity and recognisability can be built. In such an atmosphere, the 6:0 victory also has symbolic value: Belgium completed the job in front of the home crowd without any uncertainty in the result and showed that ahead of the final round they are not losing rhythm.
The broader context of qualifying for Brazil 2027
The 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup will be held in Brazil from 24 June to 25 July 2027, according to UEFA’s calendar for the qualifying cycle. The European qualifiers complete the league phase on 9 June 2026, after which play-offs follow in October, November and December 2026. UEFA states that the first round of the play-offs will be played over two legs between 7 and 13 October, while the second round is scheduled from 25 November to 5 December 2026. The best-ranked winners of the second play-off round will qualify directly for the World Cup, while one remaining national team will have the opportunity through the inter-confederation play-offs.
In that broader framework, Belgium’s 6:0 against Luxembourg is not only a convincing result against the group’s outsider, but part of the fight for a more favourable position before the complex continuation of the qualifiers. Belgium cannot reach the final tournament directly through League B, but they can finish the league phase as group winners and thereby enter the play-offs with stronger status. That is why the final duel with Luxembourg on 9 June remains important, regardless of the fact that Belgium’s play-off place has already been confirmed. After the victory in Leuven, Elísabet Gunnarsdóttir’s team have the result, goal difference and confidence, but the decision on the top of Group B4 remains open until the final day of the league phase.
Sources:
- UEFA – official schedule and results of the European qualifiers for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup. (link)
- UEFA – official overview of the situation in the groups after the fifth round of qualifying. (link)
- UEFA – official information about the Belgium – Luxembourg match, stadium, conditions and refereeing team. (link)
- UEFA – official lists of players and head coaches for the Belgium – Luxembourg match. (link)
- UEFA – statistical profile of Tessa Wullaert in qualifying. (link)
- Royal Belgian FA Tickets – information on the time and location of the Belgium – Luxembourg match. (link)
- Fédération Luxembourgeoise de Football – calendar of Luxembourg matches in June 2026. (link)