New Zealand vs Belgium, Worldcup 2026 GROUP STAGE
Overview
Match Preview
New Zealand vs Belgium — Worldcup at BC Place.
- New Zealand 3 games · 1 pts (2026/26)
- Belgium 3 games · 5 pts (2026/26)
Match Details
- Referee Adham Makhadmeh (Jordan)
- Assistant 1 Mohammad Al Kalaf (Jordan)
- Assistant 2 Ahmad Moannes Nadi Al Roalle (Jordan)
4 games this season
🟨 2.0/game
⚽ 7.0 goals/game
Standings
| # | Team | P | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mexico | 3 | 9 |
| 2 | South Africa | 3 | 4 |
| 3 | South Korea | 3 | 3 |
| 4 | Czechia | 3 | 1 |
| 5 | Switzerland | 3 | 7 |
| 6 | Canada | 3 | 4 |
| 7 | Bosnia-Herzegovina | 3 | 4 |
| 8 | Qatar | 3 | 1 |
| 9 | Brazil | 3 | 7 |
| 10 | Morocco | 3 | 7 |
| 11 | Scotland | 3 | 3 |
| 12 | Haiti | 3 | 0 |
| 13 | United States | 3 | 6 |
| 14 | Australia | 3 | 4 |
| 15 | Paraguay | 3 | 4 |
| 16 | Turkey | 3 | 3 |
| 17 | Germany | 3 | 6 |
| 18 | Ivory Coast | 3 | 6 |
| 19 | Ecuador | 3 | 4 |
| 20 | Curaçao | 3 | 1 |
| 21 | Netherlands | 3 | 7 |
| 22 | Japan | 3 | 5 |
| 23 | Sweden | 3 | 4 |
| 24 | Tunisia | 3 | 0 |
| 25 | Belgium | 3 | 5 |
| 26 | Egypt | 3 | 5 |
| 27 | Iran | 3 | 3 |
| 28 | New Zealand | 3 | 1 |
| 29 | Spain | 3 | 7 |
| 30 | Cape Verde Islands | 3 | 3 |
| 31 | Uruguay | 3 | 2 |
| 32 | Saudi Arabia | 3 | 2 |
| 33 | France | 3 | 9 |
| 34 | Norway | 3 | 6 |
| 35 | Senegal | 3 | 3 |
| 36 | Iraq | 3 | 0 |
| 37 | Argentina | 3 | 9 |
| 38 | Austria | 3 | 4 |
| 39 | Algeria | 3 | 4 |
| 40 | Jordan | 3 | 0 |
| 41 | Colombia | 3 | 7 |
| 42 | Portugal | 3 | 5 |
| 43 | Congo DR | 3 | 4 |
| 44 | Uzbekistan | 3 | 0 |
| 45 | England | 3 | 7 |
| 46 | Croatia | 3 | 6 |
| 47 | Ghana | 3 | 4 |
| 48 | Panama | 3 | 0 |
Head-to-Head
Last 5 meetings
Recent Form
Season Stats
| New Zealand | Belgium | |
|---|---|---|
| #28 | Position | #25 |
| 1 | Points | 5 |
| 3 | Played | 3 |
| 0 / 1 / 2 | W / D / L | 1 / 2 / 0 |
| 4 | Scored | 6 |
| 10 | Conceded | 2 |
| -6 | GD | +4 |
| 0.33 | PPG | 1.67 |
| 0% | Win % | 33% |
Key Stats
100%
Both Teams to Score
H2H (1 games)
H2H (1 games)
100%
Over 2.5 Goals
H2H history
H2H history
0%
Clean Sheets
New Zealand this season
New Zealand this season
17%
Clean Sheets
Belgium this season
Belgium this season
New Zealand are 28th (1 pts). Belgium are 25th (5 pts).
Goal Timing (This Season)
New Zealand
0-15
2/–
16-30
–/1
31-45
–/1
46-60
1/2
61-75
–/3
76+
1/3
■ Scored ■ Conceded
Belgium
0-15
1/–
16-30
1/3
31-45
2/1
46-60
2/1
61-75
1/–
76+
6/2
■ Scored ■ Conceded
Top Scorers (This Season)
New Zealand
| Elijah Just | 3 G |
Belgium
| Romelu Lukaku | 3 G | 1 A |
| Charles De Ketelaere | 3 G | 1 A |
| Leandro Trossard | 2 G | 2 A |
| Youri Tielemans | 2 G |
Events
Match Events
- 0' The match kicks off with home fans waiting with anticipation for New Zealand to score. At the same time, Belgium does not seem to pull back! Let’s get it on!
- 5' The energy levels are beginning to show. Rudi Garcia might look to freshen things up shortly.
- 10' While players are taking a pause, let’s have a look at their stats. The teams met 1 times this season with Belgium winning 100% of all matches.
- 15' Joe Bell has been disciplined this evening — perhaps mindful of those 0 cards already picked up this season.
- 20' It is a cagey affair so far. New Zealand in their 4-2-3-1 trying to find a way past Belgium's compact 4-2-3-1.
- 25' Belgium looks like a favorite considering 1 games won in last 1 matches with its main striker Leandro Trossard scoring 2 goals.
- 28' What composure from Leandro Trossard! The Belgium international strokes it home. 0-1.
- 33' Neither side is committing men forward. This has all the hallmarks of a tense, tactical contest.
- 38' The midfield battle is intense right now. Both New Zealand and Belgium are fighting for every inch of the pitch.
- 43' Belgium international Maxim De Cuyper has been a key figure this campaign — 0 goals and 0 assists in the Array this season.
- 46' The referee calls foul for Marko Stamenic. He receives a card.
- 46' New Zealand ring the changes. Ryan Thomas has done his job and it is now time for Ben Old to step up.
- 50' Leandro Trossard does the damage! The net is bulging and Belgium surge ahead!
- 55' The teams are not in a rush to score plenty of goals. It might look strange considering New Zealand that had 3 games and scored 4 goals.
- 56' Poor challenge from Elijah Just. The referee spots it immediately and shows the card.
- 56' The Belgium manager makes a substitution. Jeremy Doku departs to be replaced by Matias Fernandez-Pardo.
- 61' Both teams are passing the ball around with high level of urgency. New Zealand needs to do something about it to get closer to the goal.
- 64' Michael Boxall is ready to make an impact after coming on for Tim Payne at the 64 minute mark.
- 66' Kevin De Bruyne doubles the advantage! 0-3 and this game is slipping away from the opposition.
- 71' Belgium is defending very well tonight not leaving a chance for their rivals to get through for a goal.
- 72' A tactical swap from Belgium — Amadou Onana on, Kevin De Bruyne off on 72 minutes.
- 77' We miss some good tackles and strikes. Is there anyone on the field to put the game back to action?
- 79' Francis De Vries has so much to prove this time. He replaces Liberato Cacace on 79 minute.
- 84' Elijah Just doubles the advantage! 1-3 and this game is slipping away from the opposition.
- 85' The Belgium manager makes a substitution. Youri Tielemans departs to be replaced by Nicolas Raskin.
- 86' The Belgium Romelu Lukaku breaks the deadlock on 86 minutes. 1-4!
- Time to leave. No sensation happened. Another win for Belgium players.
Lineups
New Zealand Lineups
4-2-3-1Starting XI
- 1
- 4
- 13
-
2
Tim Payne ↓ Michael Boxall 64'
- 16
-
6
Joe Bell ↓ Callum McCowatt 64'
-
10
Sarpreet Singh ↓ Jesse Randall 46'
- 8
-
23
Ryan Thomas ↓ Ben Old 46'
- 11
- 9
Bench
- 12
- 22
-
5
Michael Boxall ↑ 64'
-
3
Francis De Vries ↑ 79'
- 24
- 15
- 26
-
20
Callum McCowatt ↑ 64'
-
19
Ben Old ↑ 46'
- 14
- 17
- 25
-
21
Jesse Randall ↑ 46'
- 7
- 18
Coach
Darren Bazeley
Belgium Lineups
4-2-3-1Starting XI
- 4
- 20
-
7
Kevin De Bruyne ↓ Amadou Onana 72'
- 8
- 1
- 21
- 10
- 11
- 17
- 5
- 3
Bench
-
9
Romelu Lukaku ↑ 85'
- 15
- 6
- 14
-
22
Alexis Saelemaekers ↑ 72'
-
23
Nicolas Raskin ↑ 85'
- 12
-
24
Amadou Onana ↑ 72'
- 16
- 19
- 13
- 18
-
26
Matias Fernandez-Pardo ↑ 56'
Coach
Rudi Garcia
H2H
H2H Top Scorers
| Player | Goals |
|---|---|
| Leandro Trossard | 2 |
| Alexis Saelemaekers | 1 |
| Elijah Just | 1 |
| Kevin De Bruyne | 1 |
| Romelu Lukaku | 1 |
Head to Head
New Zealand Form
Predictions
Prediction accuracy
4 / 4
0.82
New Zealand xG
Expected Goals
Dixon-Coles · Bivariate Poisson · Neg. Binomial · Elo
4.16
Belgium xG
I would bet for:
Over 2.5 goals 85% + Belgium to win 74%
Match Result
✓ CorrectActual: Belgium win
Both Teams to Score
✓ Correct
Avg goals/match: 4.98
Actual: Yes — both scored
Over / Under Goals
✓ O/U 2.5| Line | Over | Under | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ± 0.5 | 99% |
|
1% |
| ± 1.5 | 95% |
|
5% |
| ± 2.5 | 85% |
|
15% |
| ± 3.5 | 70% |
|
30% |
| ± 4.5 | 51% |
|
49% |
Double Chance
New Zealand or Draw
26%
Draw or Belgium
88%
New Zealand or Belgium
86%
Half-Time Result
✓ CorrectActual: Belgium win at HT
Correct Score
✓ In top 12
0 – 4
8.9%
0 – 3
8.8%
0 – 5
7.3%
1 – 4
7.2%
1 – 3
7%
0 – 2
6.7%
1 – 5
Actual
1 – 2
5.3%
0 – 6
5.1%
1 – 6
4.2%
0 – 1
3.3%
0 – 7
3.1%
Asian Handicap — New Zealand
| Handicap | New Zealand covers | Push | Belgium covers |
|---|---|---|---|
| -2.5 | 0% | — | 100% |
| -2 | 0% | 1% | 99% |
| -1.5 | 1% | — | 99% |
| -1 | 1% | 2% | 97% |
| -0.5 | 3% | — | 97% |
| +0.5 | 11% | — | 89% |
| +1 | 11% | 12% | 77% |
| +1.5 | 23% | — | 77% |
| +2 | 23% | 18% | 59% |
| +2.5 | 41% | — | 59% |
Clean Sheet
New Zealand keeps clean sheet
2%
✓
Belgium keeps clean sheet
44%
✓
Predictions are statistical estimates based on season form, H2H history, and a Poisson model. Not financial advice.