New Zealand 1–5 Belgium: Trossard brace and De Bruyne stunner fire Red Devils to Group G top spot

Belgium demolished New Zealand 5–1 at BC Place in Vancouver to seal top spot in Group G and advance to the knockout stage of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Leandro Trossard was the star of the show, netting twice either side of half-time, while Kevin De Bruyne added a stunning strike from outside the box in the second half to put the match beyond doubt.

Belgium dominated throughout, with New Zealand failing to register a serious attempt in the first half. Trossard opened the scoring from a corner scramble in the 28th minute before doubling the lead five minutes into the second half. De Bruyne then struck a thunderous effort from range in the 66th minute to make it 3–0. New Zealand managed a late consolation through substitute Elijah Just in the 84th minute, but Romelu Lukaku and Alexis Saelemaekers added further gloss with goals in the 86th minute and deep into stoppage time respectively.

Lukaku's goal was his sixth at FIFA World Cups, making him Belgium's all-time top scorer in the tournament, surpassing Marc Wilmots's record of five. Belgium matched their biggest ever World Cup win — also 5–0 against Tunisia in 2018 — while New Zealand exited the tournament having failed to win any of their three Group G matches.