Belgium defeated New Zealand to win the top spot in the World Cup group

Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku both scored as Belgium won 5-1 against New Zealand in Vancouver, officially qualifying for the knockout round of the World Cup. Striker Leandro Trossard had two goals in this match, helping the Belgian team finish the group stage at the top of Group G. They will face one of the third-placed teams in the round of 32 in Seattle on July 1.

Belgium's lead was almost shaken in the final minutes when New Zealand scored to shorten the score to 3-1 thanks to Elijah Just, causing Egypt to temporarily lead the group within two minutes, before Lukaku headed in to restore the three-goal gap. The match also had other dramatic developments when in the match at the same time in Seattle, Iran had a goal in the 93rd minute but was denied by VAR due to an offside violation. That match ended 1-1. In the end, Egypt qualified for the knockout round in second place and will face Australia in Dallas on July 3.


Everyone was expecting Kevin De Bruyne to have an impressive performance in this tournament. Although he is no longer at his peak at the age of 34, his ball control and tactical thinking are still very respectable. Belgium's third goal by De Bruyne himself is proof of that. He took a brilliant touch to pull the ball into space on the edge of the penalty area, before firing an accurate shot from 20 yards into the net.

This match took place with an atmosphere that was not as exciting as previous matches, when the cheers from the audience were not really impressive. Although the number of spectators was recorded at 52,497 people, many people noticed that there were more empty seats than in previous matches. Perhaps the enjoyment of the match was affected by emotions from previous matches in the tournament.

Belgium applied pressure from the opening minutes and Trossard almost scored the opening goal but his shot bounced off the post and did not find the net. Although New Zealand had a chance but could not take advantage of it, the final match still belonged to the Belgian team with a resounding victory.

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