A tough start for an underwhelming Belgium side
After two unconvincing draws in their opening group games, Belgium needed a win to guarantee their progress. The first half in Vancouver belonged to the Red Devils, though without goals at first — a VAR review overturned a penalty awarded for handball against Finn Surman, ruling his arm position natural. Belgium finally broke through in the 28th minute, when the ball bounced off the crossbar from a goalmouth scramble following a corner and went in off Leandro Trossard.
Trossard, De Bruyne and Lukaku take over
Early in the second half, in the 50th minute, Trossard added a second, pouncing on a rebound off a New Zealand defender. Sixteen minutes later, Kevin De Bruyne drilled in from distance to make it 3-0 after a surging run from Trossard caused chaos in the box. New Zealand hit back in the 84th minute through Elijah Just, his third goal of the tournament. Belgium immediately restored their three-goal cushion, though, as Romelu Lukaku headed home to score his sixth World Cup goal, overtaking Marc Wilmots as Belgium''s all-time top scorer at the tournament. In stoppage time, Lukaku turned provider for Alexis Saelemaekers, who made it 5-1.
Belgium top the group, New Zealand''s tournament ends
The win, coming alongside a draw between Egypt and Iran in the simultaneous fixture, gave Belgium top spot in Group G. The Red Devils will face one of the third-placed teams on Wednesday in Seattle in the round of 32. For New Zealand, who needed a win to advance, the tournament ends at the group stage.