For two games, Belgium were a riddle nobody could solve — including Belgium themselves. Two draws. One actual goal scored (and that was an own goal). Twenty-three shots against Iran without a single one hitting the net. The whispers about another embarrassing early World Cup exit were getting louder by the day.
Then Vancouver happened.
On Friday night at BC Place, the Red Devils finally showed the world what this team is actually capable of. Five goals. A dominant group stage win. Kevin De Bruyne with a stunning strike. Romelu Lukaku blowing kisses to the crowd. Leandro Trossard with a brace. It was, in every sense, the performance Belgium had been threatening to produce for three weeks — and it arrived just in time. Final score: Belgium 5, New Zealand 1.
The Long-Awaited Explosion
The context matters here. Belgium arrived at this World Cup as genuine contenders, a squad loaded with Premier League quality from front to back. Yet they’d sleepwalked through their opening two group games, failing to break down Egypt and Iran in a way that had fans and pundits questioning whether Rudi Garcia had lost the dressing room. De Bruyne had even gone public before this match, admitting they had “not been up to the task” and made “silly mistakes” that piled pressure onto the squad. The words stung. But sometimes a squad needs to hear them.
New Zealand, meanwhile, were already out of contention — needing nothing short of a miracle to progress — but arrived in Vancouver having shown enough fight in their opening games to be no pushover.
How It Unfolded
Belgium nearly scored before the game had properly started, with a Trossard effort ruled out by goal-line technology — it hadn’t quite crossed the line. A penalty was awarded moments later after the ball struck a New Zealand arm, but VAR overturned it. The early drama summed up Belgium’s tournament frustrations perfectly.
Then, in the 28th minute, the wait was finally over. After a goalmouth scramble from a corner, Trossard fired the ball high into the net — Belgium’s first legitimate World Cup goal since Michy Batshuayi’s effort against Canada back in Qatar in 2022. Four years of barren World Cup football, ended.
Trossard scored his second early in the second half, striking a rebound off a New Zealand player past goalkeeper Max Crocombe.
The floodgates were open. Then came the goal everyone had been waiting for. De Bruyne added a stunning strike from outside the box in the 66th minute to all but put the game away — and celebrated by making a heart with his hands for the sellout Vancouver crowd. Pure class.
Elijah Just’s third World Cup goal marked a consolation for New Zealand,
but Lukaku was on hand to immediately restore Belgium’s three-goal cushion with a towering header. The big striker, who had been carrying this attack almost entirely on his own for two games, blew a kiss to the fans as the stadium erupted. Alexis Saelemaekers wrapped up the rout in stoppage time to make it five.
The Records Behind the Scoreline
Lukaku’s goal was his sixth at a World Cup, making him Belgium’s all-time leading scorer at the tournament, surpassing Marc Wilmots’ tally of five.
He also became just the second Belgian to score at three different World Cups, joining De Bruyne, who also got on the scoresheet today.
Thibaut Courtois made his 18th World Cup appearance for Belgium, breaking Enzo Scifo’s all-time record for the most appearances by any Belgian player in tournament history.
And in a brilliant subplot, Jeremy Doku started despite having flown to London for the birth of his son and having trained with the team only once in seven days. He was electric when he had the ball, and his energy was exactly what Belgium had been missing.
What Comes Next
Belgium’s 35 shots against New Zealand rank as their third-most in any World Cup match on record, behind only their 40 shots against the United States in 2014. The finishing was finally as sharp as the chances. Belgium top Group G and head into the Round of 32 in Seattle — and after what they showed on Friday night, nobody will be rushing to face them.
The Golden Generation may be in its twilight, but they just reminded everyone they’re not done yet.
Man of the Match: Trossad
