The King of Belgium and his sons, Princes Emmanuel and Gabriel, attended Belgium’s World Cup match against Tunisia in the Spartak Stadium in Moscow on Saturday.
Prior to the tournament kicking off, King Philippe posed for a selfie with the squad, posted on defender Vincent Kompany’s Twitter account. He was then presented with a signed shirt printed with his name on the back.
His Majesty and Their Royal Highnesses sat alongside FIFA president, Gianni Infantino, wearing their Red Devils scarfs in support of their country. The royals made an appearance in the locker room after the match to congratulate the team. According to Belgian midfielder, Youri Tielmans, King Philippe “thanked everyone for representing Belgium so well. He was very proud and said that we should continue”.
The Belgium Royal Palace official Twitter account tweeted photos of the King with Romelu Lukaku, forward and two-time goal scorer in the Tunisia match, and Princes Emmanuel and Gabriel talking to team captain, Eden Hazard. They used the hashtags #redtogether and #proud, showing a country united.
The royals watched their country’s team storm ahead and beat the African team five goals to two in an explosive match. The national team – known as the Belgian Red Devils – also won their first match of the World Cup Finals, getting three goals past Panama’s defence. The country sits second in their group in the approach to their match against England on Thursday 28 and is guaranteed to make it through to the next round.
Two years ago, at the European Championships, King Philippe and Queen Mathilde were cheering in the crowd while watching their country beat Hungry four goals to none in the round of 16. Four years ago, in the World Cup held in Brazil, the royal couple sat in the stands during the group stages match between Belgium and Russia to watch yet another Red Devil victory.
