April
1, 1987
Belgium
4-Scotland 1
UEFA
European Championship Qualifying-Group 7
Venue: Bruxelles-Stade Constant
Vanden Stock (Brussels - Constant Vanden Stock Stadion)
Attendance: 26,650
Referee: Michel
Vautrot (France)
Goalscorers: (Belgium): Nico Claesen 7,
55, 86- Frank Vercauteren 75
(Scotland): Paul McStay 14
Lineups:
Belgium:
1-Jean-Marie Pfaff (Fußball-Club Bayern München e.V. / West Germany) [61 / 0]
2-Georges
Grun (Royal Sporting Club Anderlecht) [26 / 2]
3-
Franky van der Elst (Club Brugge Koninklijke
Vereniging) [14
/ 0] (14-Guy
Vandermissen (Royal Standard de Liege) [15 / 0]
89th)
4-Leo
Clijsters (Koninklijke Voetbalclub Mechelen) [19 / 0]
5-Patrick
Vervoort (Koninklijke Beerschot Voetbal en Atletiek
Vereniging)
[12 / 0]
6-Frank
Vercauteren (Royal Sporting Club Anderlecht) [59 / 9]
7-Stephane
Demol (Royal Sporting Club Anderlecht) [14 / 1]
8-Nico
Claesen (Tottenham Hotspur Football Club-London / England) [26 / 12]
9-Erwin
Vandenbergh (Lille Olympique Sporting Club -Lille Métropole
/ France) [42 / 19]
10-
Enzo Scifo (Royal Sporting Club Anderlecht)
[25 / 5] (15- Leo van der Elst (Club Brugge Koninklijke Vereniging) [13/0] 74th)
11-Philippe Desmet (Lille Olympique
Sporting Club -Lille Métropole / France) [10 / 1]
Coach:
Guy Thys
Booked:
Philippe Desmet 80th
Other Subs:
12- Michel Preud'Homme (Koninklijke
Voetbalclub Mechelen)
13- Michel DeWolf (Koninklijke Atletiek Associatie
Gent)
16-Daniel
Veyt (Koninklijke Sportvereniging Waregem)
Team
Captain: Jean-Marie Pfaff
Official
Kit Supplier/Designer: Adidas
Uniform
Colors: Red Shirts, Red
Shorts, Red Socks
 |
Photo
from: Nations of Europe, Volume I author Ron Hockings and Keir Radnedge, 1993
(Belgium squad, Top, left to right: Stephane
Demol, Philippe
Desmet, Nico
Claesen, Erwin Vandenbergh, Franky van der Elst, Georges Grun, Enzo Scifo, Leo Clijsters, Frank Vercauteren, Patrick
Vervoort,
Jean-Marie Pfaff,
April 1, 1987, EC Qualifier, Belgium 4-Scotland 1) |
Scotland:
1-James
Leighton (Aberdeen Football Club) [34 / 0]
2-
Charles ‘Richard’ Gough (Tottenham Hotspur Football Club-London / England) [31 / 3]
3-
Maurice Daniel Robert Malpas (Dundee United Football Club) [15 / 0]
8-
Paul Michael Lyons McStay (The Celtic Football Club-Glasgow) [20 / 3]
5-Alexander
McLeish (Aberdeen Football Club) [45 / 0]
6-David
Narey (Dundee United Football Club) [33 / 1]
4-
Robert Sime ‘Roy’ Aitken (The Celtic Football Club-Glasgow) [28 / 1]
7-James
Edward McInally (Dundee United Football Club) [1 / 0]
10-James
Bett (Aberdeen Football Club) [18 / 1]
(15-Patrick Kevin Francis Michael Nevin (Chelsea Football Club-London /
England) [5 / 0]
80th)
9-
Alistair Murdoch McCoist (Rangers Football Club- Glasgow) [4 / 0]
11-
Paul Whitehead Sturrock (Dundee United Football Club) [20 / 3]
Coach:
Andrew Roxburgh
Booked:
Charles ‘Richard’ Gough
Team
Captain: Robert Sime ‘Roy’ Aitken
Official
Kit Supplier/Designer: Umbro
Uniform
Colors: Yellow Shirts, Black
Shorts , Yellow Socks
Notes:
-Match
number 467 for Belgium and number 490 for Scotland.
-This
was the 12th meeting between the nations.
-The previous match between the nations, as well as the
previous match on Scottish soil was a also a European Championship Qualifier at
Glasgow’s Hampden Park on October 12, 1983 that ended in a one to one tie.
Belgium
players: Pfaff, De Wolf, Vercauteren, Claesen and vandermissen and Scotland players: Leighton,
Gough,
Aitken,
McLeish,
McStay and Bett were present that day (on the field
and/or the substitutes bench).
Frank
Vercauteren scored for Belgium.
-Belgium’s
previous win as well as the previous match in the same city, was a also a
European Championship Qualifier at Brussels’ Heysel Stadium on December 15,
1982 that Belgium won 3 to 2.
Belgium
players: Pfaff, Vercauteren, Vandenbergh, Clijsters and vandermissen and Scotland players: Leighton,
Narey,
Aitken,
McLeish,
Sturrock and Bett were present that day (on the field
and/or the substitutes bench).
Vandenbergh
scored for Belgium in that match and Scotland’s Aitken was booked.
-The next match between the nations as well as the
next match on Scottish soil and next Scotland victory (and to date the last vs
Belgium), was
the return leg of this UEFA European Championship Qualifier at Glasgow’s
Hampden Park on October 14, 1987 that Belgium won 2 to 0.
Belgium
players: Preud'Homme, Grun, Vervoort, Vercauteren, Franky van der Elst,
Desmet, Claesen, Vandenbergh,
Clijsters, Veyt and vandermissen and Scotland players: Leighton,
Malpas, McStay,
Aitken, McLeish and McCosit, were present that day (on
the field and/or the substitutes bench).
Ally
McCoist and Paul McStay scored for Scotland.
-The
next match between the nations in the same city, as well as Belgium’s next
victory, would be a World Cup Qualifier at Brussels’ Koning Boudewijn Stadion
on September 5, 2001, that Belgium won 2 to 0.
-Belgium
was missing Captain Jan Ceulemans and veteran defender Eric Gerets.
Jean-Marie
Pfaff captained in place of Ceulemans.
Georges
Grun replaced Gerets in the lineup.
-Jean-Marie
Pfaff would earn his last cap for Belgium in the following September in the EC
Qualifier vs. Bulgaria in Sofia on September 23, 1987 (0 to 2 loss).
After
that Michel Preud'Homme would be elevated as Belgium’s
starting goalkeeper.
 |
Photo From: Foot Magazine , Issue 79, May 1988
(Patrick Vervoort) |
-Scotland were missing Maurice ‘Mo’ Johnston,
Brian McClair, Willie Miller, Gordon Strachan, Murdo McLeod, Davie Cooper and
Steve Nicol among others.
Kenny Dalglish had played his last match for
Scotland at the end of 1986 and Alan Hansen had played his final match for
Scotland in the previous EC Qualifier vs. Republic of Ireland on February 18,
1987 (0 to 1 home loss).
-This was Scotland’s second straight defeat in the
EC qualifers following the above mentioned loss to Republic of Ireland.
-Despite the heavy loss, Scotland actually played
well in the first half.
-This
was Scottish James Edward McInally’s first cap.
-Scotland’s
James Bett had played in the Belgian League for Lokeren.
-This
was Scotland’s Paul Sturrock’s last cap.
-This
was Frank Vercauteren’s ninth and final goal for Belgium.
-These
were Nico Claesen’s last 3 goals and 12 th goal for Scotland.
He
did not score for Belgium again.
Claesen
had also scored a hat trick for Belgium on the EC Qualifier on October 14, 1986
vs. Luxembourg (6 to 0 win).
 |
Photo
From: France Football, April 7, 1987, No 2139
(James McInally, Referee Michel Vautrot and Nico
Claesen) |
-This
was Belgium’s Leo van der Elst’s last cap.
-Patrick
Vervoort joined Anderlecht the following season.
-Enzo
Scifo joined Serie A’s Internazionale Milano the following season.
-Both
Scifo and Vervoort played for Anderlecht and Bordeaux in their careers and also
played in Italy’s Serie A. Patrick Vervoort joined Ascoli for the 1991/92
season.
Anderlecht’s
Stephane Demol also played in the Italian and French Leagues by joining Bologna
and Toulouse.
George
Grun joined the Serie A club Parma in 1990.
Leo
van der Elst also joined the French League in 1988 by joining Metz.
-Belgium’s
Phillipe Desmet and Erwin vandenbergh had joined the French League that season
by joining Lille.
 |
Photo
From: France Football, April 7, 1987, No 2139
(Ally McCoist and Stephane Demol) |
-Ally
McCoist was Scotland’s top goalscorer that season. He is the current Rangers
Glasgow Manager.
He
won the Scottish League Cup and the Scottish League title that season with
Rangers Glasgow.
-As
stated in prebvious entries in this blog, Guy Thys and Leo Clijsters have since
passed on.
Vercauteren
has also managed the Belgian National team.
Erwin
Vandenbergh’s son Kevin has also represented Belgium.
Alexander
McLeish has managed the Scottish national Team.
-Republic
of Ireland qualified from this UEFA European Championship Group. The other
teams in the group were Luxembourg and Bulgaria.
-Frank
Vercauteren joined French club Nantes the following season and became teammates
with Scottish striker Maurice Johnston who was missing for this match.
-Jean-Marie
Pfaff won the Bundesliga League title with Bayern Munich that season.
-George
Grun, Frank Vercauteren, Stephane Demol and Enzo Scifo won the Belgian league
title with Anderlecht that season.
They
were playing this match in their home stadium.
-
Leo Clijsters and Michel Preud'Homme won the Belgian Cup with
Mechelen that season.
-Nico
Claesen was the only British based player with Belgium, he had joined Tottenham
Hotspur that season and reached the FA Cup final with them, though they lost to
Coventry in the Final (2 to 3 loss).
He
was teammates with Scotland defender Charles ‘Richard’ Gough.
-Scotland
Manager Andrew Roxburgh had been appointed as Manager that season, following
the 1986 Mexico World Cup. He would stay on until the Fall of 1993.
-Dundee
United’s Maurice Malpas, David Narey, James Edward McInally and Paul Sturrock
reached the Final of the UEFA Cup that season, though they were defeated by
Sweden’s IFK Gothenburg.
-For
the first goal in the seventh minute, Desmet sent a ball upfield to the middle
for Scifo who immediately sent Claesen through who one on one beat Leighton for
the goal, despite claims of offside from the Scottish.
-Paul
McStay tied the match in the 14th minute after a long cross from
Bett from the left was headed in by McStay.
-For
Belgium’s second in the 55th minute, Scifo sent in a cross in the
goalmouth that was headed out by Gough, Demol headed it back in and Claesen
controled the ball and turned and scored.
Once
again there were some claims of offside by the Scottish.
-For
Belgium’s third in the 75th minute, Claesen sent a cross from the
right side to the left to Desmet who then passed it to the onrushing
Vercauteren who scored.
-For
Belgium’s fourth in the 86th minute, Desmet set Claesen clear on the
right side, who then dribbled McLeisch and sent a low shot by the near post.
 |
Photo
From: France Football, April 7, 1987, No 2139
(Nico Claesen after scoring Belgium’s fourth
with McLeisch on the ground) |
Match Reports:
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