Belgium’s underwhelming performance in the opening round left the door open for the rest of the group, as all four teams now have one point each with two matches remaining.
Belgium had a tough match against Egypt, who proved to be much tougher than most people expected. Or perhaps the Red Devils simply didn’t show their best side and will be more organized in their second match. We’ll find out soon enough.
Belgium’s starting lineup wasn’t creative or explosive enough, with their best moments coming after the first few substitutions and the entry of Romelu Lukaku. As soon as he stepped onto the field, Belgium mounted an attack down the right wing, which led to an unfortunate own goal by Mohamed Hany, who was trying to beat Lukaku to the ball.
Several more good chances followed, and only a strong performance by Oufa Shobeir in goal for Egypt saved them from losing. But despite his three key saves in the second half, Belgium simply weren’t at the level needed to win the match.
The match between Iran and New Zealand, meanwhile, was one of the most interesting and fairest in terms of play since the start of the World Cup, and the teams were surprisingly evenly matched on the field.
Expectations were that Team Melli would handle the All Whites, but Chris Wood and Elijah Just played a phenomenal game, earning New Zealand a point.
Now all teams in Group G have one point each, making the group one of the most competitive so far.
How the bookies view it: The Red Devils will not make the same mistakes
Belgium will be the heavy favourite against any of the teams in Group G, but we’ve already seen that this doesn’t guarantee a win. Against Iran, they once again have a significant advantage in the odds, and you can back them at 2/5. The draw is priced at 15/4, and Iran at 13/2.
Recent head-to-head: Iran typically struggle against European teams
Belgium and Iran have never faced each other before, so this match will mark the beginning of a new rivalry. However, we do have some useful historical statistics, such as the fact that Iran have only one win in 10 matches against European opponents at World Cups (D2, L7).
Players to watch: Lukaku remains an imminent threat
Coach Rudi Garcia will have to make some changes, or he risks Belgium underperforming again. It remains to be seen whether Romelu Lukaku is ready to start or if De Ketelaere will remain in the starting lineup, but what we saw was a better Belgium after Lukaku appeared.
The problem is that Lukaku was out with injuries for almost the entire season, and he played a total of 69 minutes for Napoli during the 2025/26 campaign. He seems to be doing better now, considering he scored against Croatia and assisted against Tunisia in the pre-World Cup friendlies.
If he’s not among the starters, we’d back Jeremy Doku with a shot on target or even a goal. The Man City winger was among Belgium’s top scorers in the qualifications, with five goals and two assists in eight appearances.
Probable line-ups
Belgium: Courtois, De Cuyper, Mechele, Ngoy, Meunier, Onana, Tielemans, Doku, De Bruyne, Trossard, De Ketelaere
Iran: Beiranvand, Mohammadi, Nemati, Khalilzadeh, Rezaeian, Mohebi, Ghoddos, Ezatolahi, Ghayedi, Moghanlou, Taremi
Anything else catch the eye?
Iran are in a much more difficult situation than most teams, entirely for reasons unrelated to their on-field performance. The national team is not allowed to remain in the United States after its matches and must fly back to its base in Mexico immediately after each game.
The reduced rest time will certainly have an impact, but Amir Ghalenoei’s team demonstrated their mental toughness after falling behind twice against New Zealand. In the months leading up to the World Cup, they also showed significant improvement on offense, which is why we expect Belgium to have some defensive struggles against Team Melli.
We expect to see a high-scoring match with both teams finding the net. Alternatively, we plan to back Alireza Beiranvand to make some saves—he made six against New Zealand. On paper, Belgium have significantly more dangerous forwards, and we can expect plenty of shots towards Beiranvand’s goal.
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