VANCOUVER — The U.S. men’s national team learned more of what the pathway to a deep World Cup run could look like on Friday as Belgium thrashed New Zealand 5–1 to capture top spot in Group G.
The win, and Egypt’s 1–1 draw with Iran in Seattle, secured a round of 32 clash between Belgium and likely one of South Korea, Senegal or Algeria at Seattle’s Lumen Field, with the winner set to remain in the Pacific Northwest to take on the winner of the USMNT’s round of 32 clash with Bosnia and Herzegovina.
While Belgium entered the game as heavy favorite, it struggled to convert at the start of the match. By the first hydration break, the Red Devils had peppered the New Zealand goal with seven shots to New Zealand’s zero. At the end of the first half, Belgium held a 1–0 lead and limited New Zealand to a single touch in the attacking area.
It wasn’t all simple in Vancouver, though. After Arsenal’s Leandro Trossard scored a brace and Kevin De Bruyne netted his first goal of the tournament, New Zealand’s Elijah Just brought the score to 3–1 in the 84th minute. That result, combined with Egypt’s scoreline against Iran, briefly pushed Belgium to second in Group G, before Romelu Lukaku scored in the 86th minute to reclaim top spot.
Romelu Lukaku has now scored more World Cup goals for Belgium than any other player (6).
— Squawka (@Squawka) June 27, 2026
Marc Wilmots’ record has been broken. 🇧🇪 pic.twitter.com/i1qwiKdStK
While he didn’t get on the scoresheet, the match also marked Jeremy Doku’s return to the squad after he briefly and controversially left to return to the United Kingdom to be alongside his wife for the birth of their first child.
The performance wasn’t as clinical as Belgium may have hoped, but both De Bruyne and Lukaku rolled back the years at points, offering the key differences and shutting out the doubts that had surrounded what is likely to be their final World Cup.
“They mean a lot [to the group],” Trossard said post-match after Lukaku and De Bruyne became the first Belgian players to score in three separate World Cups. “I think we have such a good group at the moment, and everyone is important. You can see today, as well, the players coming from the bench, they are involved with goals as well, and assists, so we have to just keep on going and continue that into the next round.”
Kevin De Bruyne Joins the Star Party
Belgium had not been poor through the first two draws against Egypt and Iran, but was left to rue its missed chances after scoring just once on 38 shots across the two games. De Bruyne, 33, had not scored in his eight attempts, while other veteran stars including Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo showed out for their respective countries.
While New Zealand was far inferior opposition, the exquisite long-range strike from the Napoli midfielder, and the goal-filled outburst, could spark an attacking turn for the Red Devils ahead of the knockout phases.
“We scored on the opportunities, and once you score, maybe it gets a bit more easy, and we know in the first two games we were trying hard to create opportunities, but we weren’t able to score these chances, so you get a bit tense,” De Bruyne said.
“I was finding the right spaces, but they were defending it well, or I missed the chances. So it's good to score and to get the opportunity to help my team.”
Is Belgium Looking Ahead to the USMNT?
Belgium would have to win against one of Senegal, Algeria or South Korea to advance to the round of 16, potentially against the USMNT. Yet, despite thrashing manager Mauricio Pochettino’s men 5–2 in a March friendly, it isn’t looking too far down the road.
“First, we have to win in the Round of 32. I don’t know yet who we’ll face, but it would be disrespectful to talk about the Round of 16,” manager Rudi Garcia said when asked about the pathway. “First, we’ve got to see who wins on the other side with the US, they’ll be playing Bosnia and Herzegovina, and my old player Edin Džeko, and we don’t even know yet who we’ll play, so there’s no need to say any more.”
Should the USMNT advance past Bosnia, it would feel fairly confident against an aging Belgian side, which could struggle with the sheer number of games in a tight timespan like the World Cup and against a Stars and Stripes outfit that is much improved compared to March.
