Belgium 5-1 New Zealand: Trossard leads World Cup win

Belgium defeated New Zealand 5-1 in the FIFA World Cup 2026 on Friday night in Vancouver, with Leandro Trossard setting the tone through goals in the 28th and 50th minutes. His early double gave Belgium control before Kevin De Bruyne and the substitutes added further gloss to a one-sided result.

At BC Place, Belgium looked the sharper side almost from the opening exchanges and steadily pushed New Zealand deeper. The Red Devils finished with 54.6 percent possession, 35 total shots and 10 efforts on target, numbers that reflected how consistently they pinned New Zealand back and recycled attacks around the edge of the box.

The breakthrough arrived in the 28th minute when Trossard found the finish Belgium had been threatening. After a patient spell of pressure, the forward opened the scoring to make it 1-0, rewarding a first half in which Belgium carried greater craft and composure in the final third. New Zealand reached the break only one goal down, but they had already spent long stretches without the ball and with little room to counter.

Any hope of a second-half response was quickly checked. Just five minutes after the restart, Trossard struck again in the 50th minute to double Belgium’s lead and put the fixture firmly in their hands. Marko Stamenic’s yellow card in the 46th minute and Elijah Just’s booking in the 56th minute underlined the pressure New Zealand were under as they tried to slow Belgium’s rhythm.

Belgium’s quality between the lines remained the decisive factor, and De Bruyne added a third goal in the 66th minute. That strike all but settled the contest, capping another polished attacking sequence and giving Belgium the cushion their territorial dominance deserved. With New Zealand limited to six shots and only two on target across the night, a route back into the match never truly developed.

To their credit, New Zealand still found a late moment for their supporters. Elijah Just pulled one back in the 84th minute, converting one of the home side’s few clear openings to make it 3-1. For a brief moment, it gave the scoreline a more respectable look and offered a reminder that Belgium had not quite managed a complete shutout.

That glimmer did not last long. Romelu Lukaku restored Belgium’s three-goal margin with a header in the 86th minute, making an immediate impact from the bench, and Alexis Saelemaekers added the fifth in stoppage time at 90’+4′. Those late goals gave the final score an emphatic feel and matched a performance in which Belgium largely dictated the tempo, territory and chance creation from start to finish.

Key performers

Trossard was the clear standout, scoring in the 28th and 50th minutes and giving Belgium the cutting edge that separated the sides. De Bruyne’s goal in the 66th minute was another reminder of his ability to control the attacking phase, while Lukaku and Saelemaekers both came off the bench to score in the 86th and 90’+4′ minutes respectively. For New Zealand, Just deserved credit for continuing to push and taking his chance in the 84th minute.

NerdSports Stat: Belgium averaged a shot every 2.6 minutes and finished with nearly six times as many attempts as New Zealand, underlining how fully they controlled the attacking flow.

The result fits the wider story around Group G, with Belgium’s convincing win sending them through and strengthening the sense that they are building momentum at the right time in this World Cup. For New Zealand, the defeat leaves them with more to do and little margin for error in the table. Belgium will head into their next fixture with confidence after a five-goal display, while New Zealand must regroup quickly and look for a sharper attacking output in their final group-stage test.

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