DUBAI (Reuters) -Belgium are one game away from a first-ever World Cup finals appearance, having set up a deciding match against Samoa on Tuesday in the final qualification tournament in Dubai for the 2027 finals in Australia.
It would be an upset were Belgium to overcome Samoa, twice World Cup quarter-finalists, but the ‘Diables Noirs’ have already eliminated another perennial contender, Namibia, and emerged as a rapidly improving outfit.
The four-team qualifiers in Dubai decide who fills the 24th and final berth at the 2027 tournament and saw Belgium begin last weekend with a 22-15 win over Namibia, who have competed at the last seven World Cups since 1999.
Belgium then showed grit as they played for more than half an hour with just 14 men against Brazil, edging the game 30-27 with a try in the final two minutes.
Samoa have also won their two clashes in Dubai, making Tuesday’s meeting a do-or-die affair.
Belgium served notice of their potential in mid-year with an away victory over Canada, headlining a rather rapid ascent and putting them well ahead of their own plans.
“When I signed my contract, qualifying for the 2027 World Cup was not a priority. The objective was to rather lay the foundations for 2031,” said coach Laurent Dossat.
They missed out on direct qualification in the Rugby Europe Championship earlier this year but fifth place ensured a second chance in the final qualification tournament, even if they will be underdogs against Samoa.
“We prefer to see the glass half full. They are a level above us but we won’t doubt ourselves and we’ll go there with a big appetite,” Dossat added.
Belgium have had formal rugby structures for almost a century but qualification for the World Cup has never previously been a reality.
The team members, however, are almost exclusively drawn from clubs in France. Matias Remue, on the books at three-time champions Stade Toulousain, is their only player at a Top-14 club, but skipper Jens Torfs and key flanker Jean-Maurice Decubber are among a handful from clubs in Pro D2, the second tier of the French league.
“We are very, very proud, very humble, and very, very happy to be playing the final against Samoa on Tuesday,” said Dossat.
(Writing by Mark Gleeson in Cape Town; Editing by Clare Fallon)
