{
    "title": "2026 World Cup: Belgium wins its group ",
    "modified_at": "2026-06-27 07:14:49",
    "published_at": "2026-06-27 06:28:00",
    "url": "https://www.belganewsagency.eu/2026-world-cup-belgium-wins-its-group",
    "short_url": "http://prez.ly/bQJd",
    "culture": "en_BE",
    "language": "EN",
    "slug": "2026-world-cup-belgium-wins-its-group",
    "body": "<p><strong>After a 1-5 \u200b win against New Zealand, the Red Devils, the Belgian national team, go to the 16th finals of the World Cup. The first two matches for Belgium ended in draws, but Belgium still finished the first round as the winner of its group.</strong></p><p>Standout player Leandro Trossard accounted for two goals, while Kevin De Bruyne, substitute Romelu Lukaku, and Alexis Saelemaekers also found the net. Elijah Just scored a consolation goal for the New Zealanders, who finish in last place with one point.</p><p>Since the match between Egypt and Iran in Seattle ended in a 1-1 draw, the undefeated Belgians still secured group victory with five points. Egypt also has five, but has a worse goal difference. Iran is third after three draws with the same number of points.</p><div id=\"story-bookmark-24679971-2678-45c1-8a51-9cde6b1357a6\"\n     class=\"release-content-story-bookmark release-content-story-bookmark--horizontal\">\n\n            <a class=\"release-content-story-bookmark__thumbnail\"\n           href=\"https://www.belganewsagency.eu/2026-world-cup-belgium-face-must-win-world-cup-clash-against-new-zealand\"\n           rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"\n           target=\"_blank\"           style=\"background-image: url(https://prezly.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.uc.assets.prezly.com%2F1d2e1842-85c1-4e27-a729-afa1a0bdbf38%2F-%2Fpreview%2F600x600%2F?ar=1%3A1&amp;fit=crop&amp;s=6dc78b497b75c58a4447434148376b0c)\"\n        ></a>\n    \n    <div class=\"release-content-story-bookmark__details\">\n\n                    <a class=\"release-content-story-bookmark__title\"\n               href=\"https://www.belganewsagency.eu/2026-world-cup-belgium-face-must-win-world-cup-clash-against-new-zealand\"\n               rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"\n               target=\"_blank\"               data-type=\"story-bookmark\"\n               data-track=\"Story StoryBookmark Click\"\n               data-placement=\"content\"\n               data-id=\"24679971-2678-45c1-8a51-9cde6b1357a6\"\n           >\n                2026 World Cup: Belgium face crucial World Cup clash against New Zealand            </a>\n        \n                    <div class=\"release-content-story-bookmark__description\">\n                Belgium face New Zealand in a crucial final Group G match at the 2026 FIFA World Cup on Friday in Vancouver, with their place in the knockout stage still hanging in the balance.            </div>\n        \n        <a href=\"https://www.belganewsagency.eu/\"\n           target=\"_blank\"\n           rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"\n           class=\"release-content-story-bookmark__provider\"\n        >\n            <img class=\"release-content-story-bookmark__provider-icon\" src=\"https://avatars.prezly.com/favicon?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.belganewsagency.eu%2F2026-world-cup-belgium-face-must-win-world-cup-clash-against-new-zealand&newsroom=6b71e247-a9ba-4732-aaa3-88be14c119db\" aria-hidden=\"true\" />\n            www.belganewsagency.eu        </a>\n    </div>\n</div>\n<p>Thanks to winning the group, our country can stay in Seattle for the next round and possibly the one after that, an advantage compared to a long trip to Dallas. On July 1, South Korea, Senegal, Algeria, or Austria will be the next opponent.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><sub>| &copy; BELGA PHOTO DIRK WAEM</sub></p>",
    "header": {
        "large": "https://cdn.uc.assets.prezly.com/613af2e7-d9f1-4122-b12c-9d1737efcde5/-/preview/1200x1200/-/format/auto/",
        "release": "https://cdn.uc.assets.prezly.com/613af2e7-d9f1-4122-b12c-9d1737efcde5/-/preview/1200x1200/-/format/auto/"
    },
    "author": {
        "first_name": "Flanders",
        "last_name": "News Service"
    },
    "format_version": 5
}