New Zealand 1-5 Belgium: World Cup 2026 – live

I’ll leave you with the match report from Belgium’s 5-1 rout of New Zealand.

I’ll be back tomorrow as Austria take on Algeria to see who doesn’t want to play Spain the most. See you then.

It’s farewell to New Zealand for now,. the expanded 48-team World Cup format means we’ll likely see them again as the Oceania representative at the next tournament in four years’ time.

While they exit this World Cup bottom of their group with just one point. there were enough glimpses of promise across their three group games to give New Zealand football hope for the future. Here’s head coach Darren Bazeley:

double quotation mark The results hurts. I’m proud of the performance and the work-rate. We had to deal with a very good team for very long periods today.

Once we conceded, we had to open the game up. We made a lot of changes and brought as many attackers on as we could.

It’s disappointing but the boys worked hard, gave everything, tried everything to get back into it. show who they are. But it wasn’t their day. We know where we’ve come undone.

The experience of this is going to make us better. Next tournament, we’ll be a lot more hardened. It’s a long way off. it hurts right now because we came to get out of the group and we haven’t done that, but we had chances to do it.

Shyam has written in with some Belgium feelings: “I feel more optimistic after Belgium’s showing. Yes, some of their luminaries like Hazard are not there, but the pressure is less going into the knockout stage. Most of all they do not have Roberto Martinez who buggered up their Golden Generation!”

Belgium will play the third-placed team from Group A. I or J, which at this stage could be South Korea, Senegal, or Algeria.

And it’s full-time in Group G!

Egypt are through to the round of 32 for the first time ever. clinging onto second spot with a 1-1 draw against Iran.

Belgium sail through in first, having climbed three spots in the past 2 hours, while Iran have to wait. see if they’re one of the eight best third-placed teams.

Today’s other match in Group G between Egypt. Iran is still locked at 1-1 after VAR denied a stoppage-time winner for Iran. Follow the live-blog here:

Belgium put their first two poor performances to bed with a dominant display against a New Zealand side. just never got going. The All Whites bow out of their third World Cup, having huffed. puffed around BC Place in Vancouver, but never really laying a hand on their opponents. Belgian fans will be thrilled to see their side find a new gear now heading into the knock-out rounds.

A double for Leandro Trossard. goals to Kevin De Bruyne, Romelu Lukaku and Alexis Saelemaekers cap off Belgium’s best performance of the World Cup. New Zealand, who pulled a goal back through Elijah Just, are out.

New Zealand collapse. Belgium are through to the round of 32.

90+3 mins: The corner comes in low. cycles around the crowded penalty area before spreading wide to the right for Raskin, who clips a cross back in. Crocombe sticks a strong hand into its path before a panicked bicycle kick from a defender sees the ball spin away up-field.

90+2 mins: Belgium almost make it five! Some slick passing around New Zealand’s box following a sloppy give-away sees the ball fall to De Cuyper, who fizzes a shot towards the roof of the net,. Max Crocombe slaps it over for a corner.

90 mins: Four minutes of added time.

90 mins: Belgium take a quick free kick, feeding the ball to Onana in midfield. He takes a stride forward and unleashes a shot, but doesn’t connect properly and it skims wide.

89 mins: De Vries launches a long throw into Belgium’s penalty area, which is headed clear. Belgium are away on the counter.

88 mins: Callum McCowatt races down the other end to try. latch onto a direct long ball, but he’s shepherded by two Belgian centre-backs. New Zealand aren’t giving up.

86 mins: What a response from Belgium’s substitutes, who came on just a moment ago. A brilliant clipped cross from Raskin – his first touch of the match – falls right onto the head of Lukaku, who sends his bullet header past Crocombe. into the net.

Lukaku scores with his first touch of the game!

85 mins: Belgium substitutions. Romelu Lukaku takes the captain’s armband from Youri Tielemans, while Nicolas Raskin comes on for De Ketelaere.

The All Whites pull a goal back off a corner. with the excellent Elijah Just volleying in a poor punch from Thibault Courtois!

82 mins: Argh! New Zealand race forward with numbers after a quick free kick, but McCowatt sends his pass behind the sprinting Just who holds his arms out. looks up into the sky.

80 mins: Both teams looking a bit gassed now. Belgium sends a hopeful switched pass out to the substitute Saelemaekers, who’s isolated against De Vries, but he swings wildly at the volley. sends it up into the stands.

79 mins: New Zealand with another substitution as Francis de Vries replaces Liberato Cacace.

78 mins: New Zealand put basically everyone in the wall, with Eli Just lying down behind them all. De Cuyper takes two steps forwards, but flings his free kick well over the bar.

77 mins: Belgium win a free kick just outside New Zealand’s penalty area after an accidental trip from Stamenic. Bit soft, that.

76 mins: New Zealand almost pull a goal back! A neat interception in midfield sees the ball fed into Wood. who’s wrestling with his back to goal just inside Belgium’s penalty area. He spins. feeds Eli Just, who takes a touch and shoots… but the ball deflects off the thigh of a defender and spins out for a corner, which comes to nothing.

74 mins: Belgium are having fun now, with some sharp single-touch passes zipping around New Zealand’s penalty area. One passage of zig-zags almost lands at the foot of De Ketelaere,. it pings off his hand instead for a merciful free kick to NZ.

Marty has a fun suggestion to give lower-ranked sides a bit more of a shot in World Cup matches like this: “If FIFA really want to make things fair. they should make top tier teams give lower ranked teams their best player at half time. De Bruyne playing in White here would make this half quite interesting.”

71 mins: Belgium make two substitutions at the break. Their two goal-scorers, De Bruyne and Trossard, are off. Their job is done. Alexis Saelemaekers and Amadou Onana are on.

69 mins: Hydration break. With that third goal. Belgium leap-frog Egypt in Group G to go top on goal difference, with Egypt still locked at 1-1 with Iran. This means the Socceroos may be facing the might of Mohamed Salah in the round of 32 if scores remain the same.

67 mins: New Zealand were their own worst enemies there, with two Belgian players able to dance around the penalty area as five white shirts slipped. slid around in desperation. De Bruyne rolls the ball under his foot near the D. opens up, sending it into the net and sending the stadium into raptures.

Belgium’s talisman lasers the ball into the bottom corner and drives a nail into New Zealand’s World Cup coffin.

65 mins: Belgium with a brilliant counter-attack, starting in their own penalty area from a corner. The ball spears right to Trossard who threads it behind New Zealand’s scrambling back-line to Fernandez-Pardo storming in from the left,. his shot just skims over the crossbar.

64 mins: New Zealand make two more substitutions. Joe Bell and Tim Payne are off, Michael Boxall and Callum McCowatt are on.

64 mins: New Zealand are back on the ball now. moving it around in a horse-shoe as Belgium settle a bit more into their two defensive lines. Randall finds himself one-on-one with Castagne,. sends a cross in from the left which is deflected out for a corner.

62 mins: Belgium almost make it three! Another corner is driven in low by Fernandez-Pardo from the right. with De Bruyne clipping around one defender before rocketing a shot through a forest of players in the penalty area. Crocombe makes an excellent save and it’s cleared.

60 mins: A gorgeous through-ball from Fernandez-Pardo slices in behind New Zealand’s back line from the left in towards the sprinting De Ketelaere. whose cross is shinned out for another Belgium corner.

58 mins: A nice positive passage for New Zealand down the left. with three All Whites rotating before Stamenic sends a lovely chip in behind for Randall. It comes off a Belgian head for a corner, which is punched away and volleyed over the crossbar.

56 mins: Belgium make their first substitution as Jeremy Doku is replaced by Matias Fernandez-Pardo.

56 mins: Another yellow card for New Zealand. this time for Eli Just who tugs Trossard backwards as the Belgian tries to scamper away.

55 mins: A chance for New Zealand! Eli Just picks up the ball in deep midfield and just… runs. He tears past three Belgian players, as the Red Devils’ back-line backs off and off, into their own penalty area. Just has a team-mate tearing down the left,. a corridor opens in front of him so he shoots instead, with Courtois palming away.

53 mins: Belgium keep coming, with Doku down the left doing a little dodge to create some space for himself to cut the ball back into a crowded penalty area, but Surman throws his big noggin in the way. heads clear.

51 mins: Some great individual quality from Trossard. who controls a ping-ponging ball in the penalty area on his chest before volleying it past two All Whites defenders, leaving Crocombe planted in the grass. There’s a brief VAR check, but the goal stands.

A brace for Leandro Trossard and puts Belgium comfortably into second spot in Group G.

47 mins: Kevin De Bruyne is somehow in plenty of space just outside New Zealand’s penalty area,. he receives an easy square pass from Doku. Trossard is sprinting into space down his right, but the midfielder opens up and shoots instead. He doesn’t get much power behind it though and it rolls wide of the far post.

46 mins: The first yellow card of the match is given to Marko Stamenic for bringing down Youri Tielemans as he tried to gallop away with the ball.

New Zealand with a double-change at half-time as Ben Old replaces Ryan Thomas. while Jesse Randall is on for Sarpreet Singh.