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They were just another team throughout the 20th century. They were the minnows who were beaten with ease by stalwarts throughout the world in the early 2000s.
They weren't expected to strike big until Colin Batch came up to train them for London Olympics 2012. Since then, the Belgian men's hockey team, nicknamed The Red Lions, have never been the same.
From a surprise fifth position at the London Olympics 2012 to a dream final at the Rio Olympics 2016, Belgium has developed a lot as a hockey team.
The Kalinga Stadium at Bhubaneswar witnessed a recent spectacle to the charm of this Belgian team when they pummeled England 6-0 to enter another dream finals, this time at the FIH Hockey World Cup, where they will meet the winners of the second semifinal between Australia and Netherlands.
From the word go, Belgium pounced upon England with vengeance, for it was this very team who denied them a place in their first ever semifinals at the 2014 edition of the same.
Be it the attacking outfit, or the penalty corner wizards, or even the goalkeeper, Belgium hit all the right notes in this match.
From the first quarter itself, it was evident who would take home the ticket to the finals. Contrary to their performance in the quarterfinals, England looked completely lost, unable to intercept the Belgian passes, or even make an effort to stop their circle entries.
To make matters worse, their attacks on the Belgian goal found little support, as Vincent Vanasch denied them goals with ease.
By the time the final hooter blared throughout the Kalinga Stadium, it was Belgium who had whitewashed Belgium by 6-0. To double the celebrations, penalty corner specialist Alexander Hendrickx also scored back to back goals to take own his tally of goals to seven, pipping Blake Govers and Gonzalo Peillat in the race of the highest individual goalscorer.
Following are some of the interesting points about the match between Belgium and England.
#5 The writing on the wall from the first quarter itself
From the word 'Go', it was crystal clear as to who actually called the shots in the first semifinal between England and Belgium.
From the very first minute, Belgium attacked England with full force, making four circle entries into the English side.
Contrary to his stance against Olympic champions Argentina in the quarterfinals, the English goalkeeper George Pinner was completely clueless as to how to rescue his team from the Belgian attacks.
In the very eighth minute, Belgium struck gold when star striker Tom Boon struck a fierce shot into the English goalpost, giving Belgium a crucial lead of 1-0 in the very first quarter.
Had anyone closely followed the playing stance of Belgium during this goal, one would've known the result of the match. From that goal, Belgium never looked back.
By the time the first half ended, Belgium was officially ahead by 2-0, with Simon Gougnard chipping in the first Belgian goal from a penalty corner.
#4 Penalty corner specialists have a field day
If someone thoroughly enjoyed their position in this semifinal, it was the penalty corner specialists from Belgium, who literally had a field day when they scored goals at will against the English side.
It began with Simon Gougnard, the hero of the Belgian team against India, who chipped in a crucial goal in the 19th minute with a penalty corner.
Even though the Belgians couldn't extend their lead for the next 23 minutes, they still had an upper advantage over England. It was in the final quarter, when the penalty corner specialists came back into action, extending the lead of Belgium by leaps and bounds.
When Alexander Hendrickx received the crucial penalty corner for Belgium in the 45th minute, Belgium was already ahead by 3-0.
However, he chipped in two back to back goals, in the 45th and the 50th minute to give Belgium an unassailable lead of 5-0. Sebastian Dockier thrust the final nail in the coffin of English dreams by extending the lead to 6-0.
#3 Belgium impresses the crowd with their team spirit
One of the most essential things that makes a sport interesting, as well as inspiring, is the spirit of teamwork. What Belgium displayed at Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar is nothing less than inspiring, as they showed why they're one of the best.
Right from the word go, Belgium displayed why teamwork is necessary to sail through any match.
Be it the attacking outfit, or the penalty corners, Belgium entertained the audience throughout with their teamwork.
Interestingly, this was the same spirit that had driven England to a shocking entry into the semifinals, despite being one of the weakest teams on paper.
Another impressive proof of Belgium's team spirit was when the entire team wore black bands to observe the demise of Simon Gougnard's father, who had passed away just a couple of days ago.
When he scored a crucial goal as a tribute to his father, the Belgians joined him in this unique celebration as one of his own.
#2 Vincent Vanasch is the rock yet again
One of the unsung heroes of this match was undoubtedly the person, who ensured that Belgium's mammoth win is kept whisker clean throughout.
He was the iconic goalkeeper Vincent Vanasch, who had played a crucial role in leading Belgium to a surprise final at the hockey event in Rio Olympics 2016.
England wasn't out, despite being laid back by 0-2. They tried their level best, and attacked the Belgian side with brute force after halftime, earning four penalty corners.
Had they been successful in all, Belgium would've to fight tooth and nail to win the match, despite being in the lead.
However, it was to the credit of Vincent Vanasch that Belgium managed to keep a clean slate and sail through the semifinals for their first ever FIH World Cup finals.
Irrespective of what is the outcome, Belgium shall remember the heroics of Vincent Vanasch for times to come.
#1 A dream final for Belgium yet again
They were touted as the dark horses for the World Cup and staying true to the word, Belgium has surprised one and all in their route to a dream World Cup final.
They had almost made it in 2014, had it not been for an in-form England, whom they pummeled this time in a sweet revenge.
Nobody would've expected Belgium to sail through to a dream final yet again. Belgium had a dream finals at Rio Olympics, which would better the color of their medal from Antwerp 1920.
Ironically, their opponent in this finals is the very team, whom they had defeated at Rio Olympics to sail into the finals, i.e. Netherlands.
As such, it would be an interesting spectacle to see Belgium tussle for their debut title against Netherlands, who's yearning for their first title in 20 years, after they had won their last title on home soil in 1998.
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