Stop Tessa Wullaert and you stop Belgium? Improving side will hope to prove they are more than a one-woman team
This article is part of the Guardian’s Euro 2025 Experts’ Network, a cooperation between some of the best media organisations from the 16 countries who qualified. theguardian.com is running previews from two teams each day in the run-up to the tournament kicking off on 2 July.
The year started with a big surprise and shake-up of the national team setup with the longtime coach Ives Serneels sacked after 14 years in the post. He had taken Belgium to Euro 2025 but the playoff wins against Greece and Ukraine were unconvincing and made the Belgian FA wonder if the team was still improving under him.
The answer was no and in came Elísabet Gunnarsdóttir and under her the team finished third in an extremely tough Nations League group made up of Spain, England and Portugal. She moved to a 5-4-1 out of possession and is trying to make Belgium a team that thrives on quick transitions. In the striker Tessa Wullaert and the right wing-back Jill Janssens Belgium have two fast players who are good at running in behind the defence.
In attack the 5-4-1 switches to a rather adventurous 3-4-3 with the left wing-back Davina Philtjens joining midfield, Janssens joining the attack and Hannah Eurlings leaving her inverted position in midfield to become a left-winger.
