{"id":498177,"date":"2026-06-27T12:11:18","date_gmt":"2026-06-27T12:11:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/498177\/"},"modified":"2026-06-27T12:11:18","modified_gmt":"2026-06-27T12:11:18","slug":"slick-belgium-outplay-new-zealand-to-end-all-whites-fifa-world-cup-campaign","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/498177\/","title":{"rendered":"Slick Belgium outplay New Zealand to end All Whites’ FIFA World Cup campaign"},"content":{"rendered":"

New Zealand\u2019s pursuit of FIFA World Cup glory is over for four more years after a 5-1 loss to Belgium in Vancouver.<\/p>\n

With both sides needing a win to remain in the 48-team tournament, Belgium justified their #9 FIFA world ranking, taking control of the match in the second half at BC Place Vancouver.<\/p>\n

In front of a near-capacity crowd of 52,497, New Zealand lived dangerously in the first half-hour, with defender Tyler Bindon scrambling the ball off his own goalline.<\/p>\n

Midway through the half, Belgium were denied a penalty after a VAR review overturned the referee\u2019s initial decision, when a shot was deflected off Finn Surman\u2019s arm and over the crossbar.<\/p>\n

New Zealand\u2019s luck ran out in the 28th minute when Leandro Trossard eased the tension for Belgian fans who feared an early exit from the competition.<\/p>\n

A corner that wasn\u2019t dealt with provided Trossard with the chance to steer the ball past goalkeeper Max Crocombe.<\/p>\n

After turning around 1-0 ahead, Belgium poured on the pressure in the second spell.<\/p>\n

Trossard cashed in on a defensive mix-up to poke the the ball home for his second goal, in the 50th minute.<\/p>\n

This forced the Kiwis to chance their arm, opening up opportunities for Belgium.<\/p>\n

Midfielder Kevin De Bryne stretched his side\u2019s lead with a well-taken goal in the 66th minute.<\/p>\n

\"\"Kevin De Bruyne \u2026 scored his side\u2019s third goal.<\/p>\n

New Zealand\u2019s best moment came in the 84th minute when Eli Just scored his third goal of the tournament, shooting the ball into the middle of the Belgian goal.<\/p>\n

Substitute Romelu Lukaku headed Belgium\u2019s fourth goal two minutes later, and Alexis Saelemaekers finished his side\u2019s scoring in stoppage time.<\/p>\n

Victory means Belgium go through to the Round of 32 as Group G leaders and, as the groups currently stand, could face South Korea in Seattle on Thursday (NZT).<\/p>\n

In the other Group G match, Egypt and Iran drew 1-1, meaning the Pharaohs will meet Australia at Dallas Stadium next Saturday (NZT).<\/p>\n

Result<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Games played on Saturday June 27, 2026 (NZT)<\/p>\n

Belgium
New Zealand 1 (Eli Just 84\u2032)
Belgium 5 (Leandro Trossard 28\u2032, 50\u2032, Kevin De Bruyne 66\u2032, Romelu Lukaku 86\u2032, Alexis Saelemaekers 90+4\u2032)<\/p>\n

Egypt 1 (Mahmoud Saber 5\u2032)
Iran 1 (Ramin Rezaeian 14\u2032)<\/p>\n

FIFA Men\u2019s World Cup Group G<\/p>\n

Team
\nP
\nW
\nD
\nL
\nGF
\nGA
\nGD
\nPts<\/p>\n

Belgium
\n3
\n1
\n2
\n0
\n6
\n2
\n4
\n5<\/p>\n

Egypt
\n3
\n1
\n2
\n0
\n5
\n3
\n2
\n5<\/p>\n

Iran
\n3
\n0
\n3
\n0
\n3
\n3
\n0
\n3<\/p>\n

New Zealand
\n3
\n0
\n1
\n2
\n4
\n10
\n-6
\n1<\/p>\n

This story was published on June 27, 2026<\/p>\n

More football stories<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"New Zealand\u2019s pursuit of FIFA World Cup glory is over for four more years after a 5-1 loss…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":498178,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[213543,2965,187933,111,43,139,69],"class_list":["post-498177","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-zealand","tag-2026-fifa-mens-world-cup","tag-all-whites","tag-fifa-mens-world-cup","tag-new-zealand","tag-news","tag-newzealand","tag-nz"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/498177","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=498177"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/498177\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/498178"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=498177"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=498177"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=498177"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}