VANCOUVER — Belgium finally found the attacking form that had eluded it through two lackluster group-stage performances, demolishing World Cup debutant New Zealand 5-1 on Friday night at BC Place to win Group G and eliminate the Football Ferns from the tournament.
The result was a stunning turnaround for a Belgian side that had managed just a single goal through its first two matches of the tournament, an own goal scored by Egypt’s Mohamed Hany in a 1-1 draw. After that performance and a goalless draw against Iran, Belgium’s attack finally clicked at the moment it needed to most.
Trossard sparks the rout early
Winger Leandro Trossard opened the scoring in the 28th minute, capitalizing after New Zealand’s defense was caught napping on a corner kick. Trossard slipped into the box unmarked to give Belgium a 1-0 lead, capping a sequence in which he had already come close to scoring twice. In the 12th minute, a Trossard shot struck the post and appeared to have crossed the line, only for goal-line technology to rule that it had not, while a VAR review in the 22nd minute cleared New Zealand defender Finn Surman of a handball inside the box.
Trossard doubled his and Belgium’s tally in the 50th minute, pouncing on a deflected rebound after his initial shot was blocked, beating New Zealand goalkeeper Max Crocombe, who had no time to react. The two-goal night propelled Trossard to the forefront of a Belgian attack that had badly needed a spark.
Following his second goal, Trossard celebrated with his now-signature gesture, cupping his hands over his eyes like a pair of goggles — a tribute to his son’s love of superheroes.
De Bruyne adds his name to the scoresheet
Belgian playmaker Kevin De Bruyne extended the lead to 3-0 in the 66th minute with a standout individual effort, collecting the ball outside the box and dribbling through New Zealand’s defense before beating Crocombe with a shot from distance. The goal prompted chants of “Oh, Kevin De Bruyne” from the crowd at BC Place as the match headed into the second-half hydration break.
Belgium had dominated the run of play for long stretches, putting up 16 attempts on goal in the first half alone, four of them on target, while New Zealand failed to register a single shot on goal before halftime. New Zealand striker Chris Wood struggled to get loose against Belgium’s physical defensive approach, visibly frustrated at times when challenges went uncalled.
New Zealand gets a consolation goal before Belgium pulls away again
New Zealand finally broke through in the 84th minute, when winger Elijah Just scored to make it 3-1, his third goal of the tournament. The goal offered a brief moment of life for the Football Ferns and their fans, but it proved to be too little, too late against a Belgian side that had already wrapped up the result.
Belgium answered almost immediately. Just two minutes later, in the 86th minute, substitute Romelu Lukaku restored the three-goal cushion, heading home to make it 4-1. The goal was a milestone moment for the Belgian legend, who came on as a substitute and now sits as Belgium’s all-time leading goal scorer with 91 career goals for the national team.
Substitute Alexis Saelemaekers added an exclamation point in the 90th-plus-4th minute, scoring Belgium’s fifth goal of the night moments before the final whistle to complete the rout.
A tactical night of substitutions
Both sides made heavy use of their benches as the match wore on. Belgium brought on Saelemaekers and Amadou Onana in the 72nd minute, replacing goal-scorers Trossard and De Bruyne after their work was effectively done. Earlier, in the 56th minute, Belgium substituted winger Jérémy Doku for Matias Fernandez-Pardo after Doku picked up a hard challenge from New Zealand’s Just, who was shown a yellow card for the foul — a decision that reflected Belgium’s unwillingness to risk one of its key attacking players once the match was firmly in hand.
New Zealand turned over its lineup repeatedly in search of a spark, opening the second half with a double substitution, bringing on Jesse Randal and Ben Old for Sarpreet Singh and Ryan Thomas. The Football Ferns made another double change in the 64th minute, sending on Michael Boxall and Callum McCowatt, before a fifth and final substitution in the 79th minute brought on Francis De Vries for Liberato Cacace.
What it means for both teams
The result eliminates New Zealand from the tournament after the program’s first appearance at a men’s World Cup in 16 years, closing out a campaign in which the Football Ferns failed to win any of their three group matches. Belgium, meanwhile, claims top spot in Group G after entering the tournament’s final group match under significant pressure following two underwhelming results against Egypt and Iran.
With the group stage now complete, Belgium advances to the Round of 32, where it is set to face the third-place finisher from Group A, E, H, I or J. That matchup is scheduled to be played in Seattle on Wednesday, July 1.
For Belgium, Friday’s performance represented a dramatic reversal of fortune after a tournament that had, until this point, raised real questions about whether the team’s attacking talent would ever translate into goals on the world’s biggest stage. With Trossard, De Bruyne and Lukaku all finding the net in the same match, those concerns were emphatically answered, at least for one night, as Belgium’s golden generation showed exactly why it remains one of the most dangerous attacking outfits left in the tournament heading into the knockout rounds.
