Leandro Trossard lit up BC Place with a two-goal showcase as Belgium hammered New Zealand 5-1 in Vancouver on Friday, a statement win that fired the Red Devils into the World Cup knockout round as Group G winners. After two opening draws had them stuck in third, Belgium finally kicked into gear and now heads to Seattle for a round-of-32 match on Wednesday against one of the tournament’s best third-place finishers.
Trossard’s brace set the tone, with Kevin De Bruyne, Romelu Lukaku and Alexis Saelemaekers all joining the party on the scoresheet, while Elijah Just grabbed a late consolation for New Zealand, according to The Associated Press. The result locked Belgium into the top spot in Group G and booked them a short hop across the border to Seattle for the next round.
VAR Drama And Tech Tightens A One-Sided Night
The scoreline looked comfortable, but the tech got a workout. A potential penalty after Trossard’s shot struck Finn Surman’s arm was wiped away following a VAR review, and goal-line technology had earlier ruled out another Belgian chance. Those flashpoints were brief pauses in a largely one-way contest. Belgium finally broke through in the 28th minute, and Trossard’s second early in the second half effectively ended the suspense before De Bruyne, Lukaku and Saelemaekers rounded out the rout, as detailed by Squawka.
Seattle Connection Turns Knockout Match Into Near Home Game
Finishing atop Group G gives Belgium more than bragging rights. It also means they will not have to stray far from their World Cup training base in the Seattle area for that first knockout clash. The Seattle Times has reported the Red Devils are using the Seattle Sounders training complex in Renton as their base camp, while earlier coverage outlined home-turf plans and local fan preparations around the city.
For New Zealand, Just’s 84th-minute strike was a late piece of consolation, as the All Whites finished bottom of Group G and exited without that elusive first World Cup win, according to the Oceania Football Confederation. The regional body noted that Just ended the tournament with three goals and that New Zealand, while heading home, can still bank lessons from what it described as a spirited campaign. Oceania Football Confederation
Belgium now waits to find out which third-place side it will face in Seattle on Wednesday, with the matchup set once the remaining group games wrap up. With the squad already settled in the Seattle area, local organizers and bars are bracing for a louder-than-usual Belgian footprint for what is technically a neutral-site knockout tie, a detail noted in postmatch coverage by The Associated Press.
