The European Parliament's Brexit coordinator has mocked England's chances of beating Belgium at the World Cup.

Guy Verhofstadt tweeted the jibe after MEP and former UKIP leader Nigel Farage said Belgium was "not a nation".

Mr Verhofstadt, a former prime minister of Belgium, tweeted: "He'll see how real Belgium is when we play England in the World Cup! But perhaps he's still exploring German citizenship and will be rooting for 'die Mannschaft'."

England will play Belgium at the World Cup on 28 June - a match many expect will decide who tops Group G.

Today, Nigel Farage said Belgium is not a real country. He’ll see how real Belgium is when we play England in the World Cup! But perhaps he’s still exploring German citizenship and will be rooting for “die Mannschaft” 😉 🇧🇪 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 🇩🇪 — Guy Verhofstadt (@guyverhofstadt) May 3, 2018

Mr Verhofstadt was responding to comments made by Mr Farage during a European Parliament debate on the future of Europe in Brussels.


Rising to make his first contribution, Mr Farage claimed it was "extraordinary" that there had "barely been a mention" of Brexit, "the biggest most dramatic event that has ever happened since the foundation of the European treaties".

He said the reason Belgium supported the European project and closer integration was because it is "not a nation, it's an artificial creation".

"I know the Brits did it, maybe once again we can be blamed, but the truth is there are two parts of Belgium," Mr Farage said to heckles.

"They speak different languages, they dislike each other intensely, there's no national TV station, there's no national newspaper.

"Belgium is not a nation and maybe that's why you're happy to sign up to a higher European level.

"Well, if Belgium wants it that's fine, but I can assure you, and you can scream and shout all you like, just look at the election results.

"You're losing folks, you're losing. Brexit is the first brick out of the wall, you've learnt none of the lessons, the days of this project are over.

"We want to live in nation-states, not false, artificial creations."

Image: Charles Michel addresses the European Parliament as Nigel Farage looks on

The tirade drew an angry response from Belgian PM Charles Michel, who said: "You are slipping towards populism and extremism and I don't think that is worthy of your political party.

"Yes, of course I should thank Nigel Farage for his good advice on the future of Belgium, I'm very pleased to hear some good advice from Nigel Farage for the future of Belgium.

"He's sorted out the future of the UK through Brexit and we see where that's ended up for the UK."