Belgium defeated New Zealand 5-1 to book their place in the knockout rounds of the FIFA World Cup by finishing on top of Group G ahead of Egypt in Vancouver.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A brace from Arsenal’s Leandro Trossard and goals from Kevin De Bruyne, Romelu Lukaku and Alexis Saelemaekers carried the Red Devils into the last 32 in first place ahead of Egypt on goal difference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Egypt claimed the runners-up spot after a 1-1 draw with Iran in Seattle. The Central Asian side finished third in the group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Belgium dominated a lopsided first half and had alarm bells ringing in the New Zealand defence early on when Trossard’s angled shot cannoned of the inside of the upright only to be cleared off the line by Tyler Binden.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Red Devils looked poised to take the lead moments later when Jordanian referee Adham Mohammad pointed to the penalty spot after Trossard’s shot hit the arm of covering defender Finn Surman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But VAR sent Mohammad to the monitor to take another look at the decision, which was subsequently overturned and New Zealand breathed again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yet Belgium did not have long to wait before the breakthrough and again it was Trossard who proved to be in the right place at the right time, bundling home from close range after De Bruyne’s corner sowed panic in the six-yard box.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trossard effectively made the game safe five minutes into the second half, controlling a rebound in a crowded area to volley home past New Zealand goalkeeper Max Crocombe at the near post.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
De Bruyne then stroked home an elegant low finish in the 66th minute to make it 3-0, a crucial goal which saw the Belgians leapfrog over Egypt into first place on goal difference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yet there was to be a dramatic end when New Zealand’s Elijah Just volleyed home a consolation strike from the edge of the area to make it 3-1.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That could have been potentially costly, with the goal suddenly bumping Belgium down into second place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But Lukaku nodded home his team’s fourth in the 86th minute with his first touch just a minute after coming on as a substitute to return Belgium to the top of the table.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Saelemaekers completed the scoring with a shot from the edge of the area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Iran must wait to discover their fate after playing to a 1-1 draw with Egypt in their World Cup Group G match.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Iran – who had a goal heartbreakingly ruled out for offside in the dying seconds – finished third in the group and will only know if the point is enough to take them through to the knockout stage for the first time as one of the eight best third-placed sides.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Egypt, meanwhile, secured their place in the knockout phase for the first time in their history and will face Australia in the Round of 32.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Egypt made the perfect start as Mahmoud Saber converted from close range in the fifth minute after Alireza Beiranvand could only parry Mohamed Salah’s deflected strike.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Iran were handed a golden opportunity to level in the ninth minute when Mehdi Taremi won a penalty after being fouled by Mohamed Abdelmonem, but Mostafa Shobeir saved his spot-kick.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Shobeir pulled off an even better save to stop Milad Mohammadi finding the bottom corner, only to see Ramin Rezaeian react fastest to the loose ball and equalise from the tightest of angles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Shobeir’s fine first-half display was almost undone on the stroke of half-time when he completely misjudged a cross. Luckily for him, Shoja Khalilzadeh headed wide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Egypt controlled possession for long spells after the break, aware Belgium’s lead over New Zealand in the other Group G game could determine their final group placing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Iran came close to a dramatic late winner that would have moved them above Hossam Hassan’s team into second, but Shojae Khalilzadeh’s stoppage-time strike was ruled out for offside after a VAR review, before Shobeir saved from Saeid Ezatolahi.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Belgium defeated New Zealand 5-1 to book their place in the knockout rounds of the FIFA World Cup<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14287,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[430],"tags":[276,63],"class_list":["post-14286","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-football","tag-fifa","tag-football"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t