New Zealand vs Belgium Preview

Saturday morning’s Group G finale at BC Place in Vancouver brings together New Zealand and Belgium in a fixture that carries enormous consequences, particularly for the Red Devils. Belgium sit third on two points, level with Iran in second having drawn 0–0 in their meeting. New Zealand are fourth on one point with a goal difference of -2. With Egypt already likely secure at the top, the question is who claims second — and Belgium need a win here while hoping Iran do not beat Egypt in the simultaneous fixture in Seattle. For New Zealand, the tournament has been a tough experience, but a first win would be a fitting send-off.

New Zealand have competed without being able to translate effort into results. Their most recent outing was a 3–1 home defeat to Egypt on 22nd June — a match in which they made a bright start but ultimately conceded too often. Prior to that, they drew 2–2 away to Iran on 16th June in what was arguably their best performance of the tournament, taking a share of the spoils against a side who had looked threatening coming in. Earlier in this run, a 1–0 defeat away to England on 6th June and a heavy 4–0 loss away to Haiti on 3rd June showed the gulf in class against stronger opposition, while a 4–1 home win over Chile on 30th March in a friendly offered a more positive note. One win, one draw, and three defeats — New Zealand will want to end on a high but face a significant task against a Belgium side desperate for three points.

Belgium are in a peculiar position — talented on paper but unable to impose themselves in the group stage so far. Their most recent outing was a 0–0 draw at home to Iran on 21st June, a frustrating result given the attacking quality at their disposal. Prior to that, they drew 1–1 at home to Egypt on 15th June in another match where they failed to convert their chances into a win. Earlier in this run, a 5–0 home demolition of Tunisia on 6th June in a friendly showed their destructive capability, a 2–0 win away in Croatia on 2nd June was a composed away performance, and a 1–1 draw away in Mexico on 1st April rounds out a sequence of two wins, two draws and no defeats in five. Belgium have the quality — they simply need to rediscover the cutting edge that was so evident against Tunisia.

In Group G, Egypt lead on four points with a goal difference of +2. Iran sit second on two points with a goal difference of zero. Belgium are third on two points with a goal difference of zero — level with Iran. New Zealand are fourth on one point with a goal difference of -2. Belgium need to win and hope Egypt hold Iran; any other combination of results could still see them eliminated. New Zealand can only qualify if they beat Belgium and Iran lose.

These two sides have never previously met — there is no head-to-head history between New Zealand and Belgium on record.

In the UK, the match is live on BBC One and available to stream via BBC iPlayer and BBC Sport Web, with radio commentary on BBC Radio 5 Live. In Belgium, viewers can follow on La Une, VRT 1, and RTBF Auvio Direct. New Zealand audiences can catch the action on TVNZ 1 and TVNZ+, while US viewers have access via FOX Network, fuboTV, Telemundo, and Telemundo Deportes En Vivo.

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Lineups & Injuries

New Zealand (4-2-3-1) Crocombe, Payne, Surman, Boxall, Cacace, Bell, Stamenic, McCowatt, Singh, Just, Wood

Belgium (4-2-3-1) Courtois, De Cuyper, Mechele, Ngoy, Meunier, Tielemans, De Bruyne, Trossard, Raskin, Saelemaekers, Lukaku

New Zealand: No missing players listed.

Belgium: No missing players listed.

Both squads are reported as fully available, giving both coaches their strongest possible selections for what is a must-win fixture for Belgium and a final opportunity for New Zealand to end their tournament with a positive result.

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Group G Table

Pos.	Team	MP	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	P
1	Egypt	2	1	1	0	4	2	+2	4
2	Iran	2	0	2	0	2	2	0	2
3	Belgium	2	0	2	0	1	1	0	2
4	New Zealand	2	0	1	1	3	5	-2	1

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New Zealand Form

Result	Home Team	Score	Away Team	Competition	Date
❌	New Zealand	1–3	Egypt	World Cup	22-06-26
🤝	Iran	2–2	New Zealand	World Cup	16-06-26
❌	England	1–0	New Zealand	Friendly	06-06-26
❌	Haiti	4–0	New Zealand	Friendly	03-06-26
✅	New Zealand	4–1	Chile	Friendly	30-03-26

Belgium Form

Result	Home Team	Score	Away Team	Competition	Date
🤝	Belgium	0–0	Iran	World Cup	21-06-26
🤝	Belgium	1–1	Egypt	World Cup	15-06-26
✅	Belgium	5–0	Tunisia	Friendly	06-06-26
✅	Croatia	0–2	Belgium	Friendly	02-06-26
🤝	Mexico	1–1	Belgium	Friendly	01-04-26

Head-to-Head

No previous meetings on record between these sides.

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TV Listings / Streaming

Country	Channel
Great Britain	BBC One, BBC iPlayer, BBC Sport Web, BBC Radio 5 Live
Ireland Republic	RTE 2, BBC One, RTE Player, BBC iPlayer, BBC Radio 5 Live
Belgium	La Une, VRT 1, RTBF Auvio Direct, Proximus Pickx
New Zealand	TVNZ 1, TVNZ+
USA	FOX Network, fuboTV, Telemundo, Telemundo Deportes En Vivo, FOX One
Germany	ORF eins, SRF zwei, MagentaTV
France	beIN Sports 1, beIN SPORTS CONNECT, myCANAL
Australia	SBS, SBS On Demand
Canada	TSN+, TSN1, RDS, CTV App
Netherlands	NPO 1, NPO Start, Ziggo Go