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Ezekiel - June 3, 2026
Group G is one of those groups where the top two spots look clear on paper but the fight for second place is genuinely interesting. Belgium are the favourites and should qualify comfortably. But between Egypt, Iran and New Zealand, there is a real battle to decide who joins them in the knockout rounds, and the expanded format means even finishing third gives you a chance. For all our World Cup 2026 predictions and analysis visit LeagueLane.
Belgium come into this tournament still carrying the baggage of 2022, when their golden generation crashed out in the group stage. That era is gone now but some of its key figures remain and this squad needs to prove it can do better. They have more than enough quality to top this group. The question, as it always is with Belgium, is whether they can hold it together when the tournament really starts to matter.
Egypt have Mohamed Salah, who left Liverpool at the end of the season as a free agent and arrives at what is almost certainly his last World Cup with something to prove. Iran are hard to beat and experienced at this level, while New Zealand are back for the first time since 2010, unbeaten in their qualification campaign, led by Chris Wood, and playing for a country that is still finding its feet at this level.
Belgium reached the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup and finished third, their best result in 32 years. Four years later in Qatar they went out in the group stage and the golden generation fell apart. Several of those players are still here but this is a different team, led by Rudi Garcia and built around a younger core that wants to write its own story.
Garcia replaced Domenico Tedesco in January 2025 and has done a solid job of putting this squad back together. He has lost just one of his first ten games in charge, qualified with an unbeaten campaign, and beaten the United States 5-2 in a warm-up friendly. The most important thing he has done is restore team spirit after the reported tensions that hurt Belgium in Qatar.
Kevin De Bruyne at Napoli is in the last years of his career but still the best creative player in this squad by a long way. Romelu Lukaku, also at Napoli, arrives with serious fitness concerns; Garcia has openly said he is out of shape having played just seven matches all season and scored once in nine months. He is a major doubt to contribute meaningfully.
Thibaut Courtois at Real Madrid is back after injury and his return in goal is a real boost. Youri Tielemans captains the side and Jeremy Doku at Manchester City provides the pace and directness that Belgium need from wide areas.
The notable squad omission is Malick Fofana, Belgium’s top scorer in qualifying with six goals, who was left out entirely.
Prediction: Belgium top Group G. They have too much quality to slip up against these three teams and Garcia has given them direction that was missing before. The real test comes after the group stage.
Egypt have won the Africa Cup of Nations seven times. They are one of the biggest football nations in Africa and yet at the World Cup they have a record that is hard to believe. They have never won a World Cup game in the modern era. They went out in the group stage in 1990 and again in 2018. For a country of over 100 million people who love football, that is a painful truth.
Coach Hossam Hassan is himself the all-time top scorer in Egyptian football history with 69 goals. Mohamed Salah, his captain, arrives having left Liverpool at the end of the season as a free agent, bringing to a close his nine-year chapter at Anfield. He arrives at what is almost certainly his last World Cup without a club, but still one of the most dangerous players in the world on his day. Omar Marmoush at Manchester City had a difficult season, scoring eight goals and three assists in 38 appearances across all competitions.
The honest truth about this Egypt team is that outside of Salah, the squad is largely made up of players from Egyptian domestic clubs, primarily Al Ahly and Zamalek. That gives the team good chemistry but the step up in quality against Belgium, Iran and even New Zealand could expose the limitations of players not used to this kind of pressure.
Prediction: Egypt have the quality to challenge for second place in Group G. A result against Belgium on the opening day is the key to everything. If Salah produces a moment, Iran and New Zealand become very winnable.
Iran have been to seven World Cups and have never made it out of the group stage. In Qatar in 2022, they needed just one goal against the United States in their final game to go through and they could not get it. Seven tournaments. Seven group stage exits. The whole country is desperate for something different this time.
Amir Ghalenoei is in his second spell as Iran manager and has been very impressive; 30 wins from 42 games in charge. The big story in the squad announcement is that Sardar Azmoun was left out entirely, reportedly due to a falling out with the federation over a social media post deemed disloyal.
Losing Azmoun, who has 57 goals in 91 appearances, is a real blow. Mehdi Taremi at Olympiacos is the captain and carries the entire attacking burden with 60 goals in over 100 appearances; among the most prolific strikers ever produced by Asian football. Seventeen of the twenty-six players come from the Iran Pro League.
Prediction: Iran are too well organised to be beaten easily and have enough to make things very difficult for Egypt. Ghalenoei’s record of 30 wins from 42 games does not lie.
New Zealand last played at a World Cup in 2010 in South Africa, where they drew all three of their group games; unbeaten but still eliminated. Sixteen years later they are back and hoping to go one step further.
Darren Bazeley is the manager and his story is genuinely interesting. When New Zealand walk out on matchday one, he will become the first coach in history to have managed at the Under-17 World Cup, the Under-20 World Cup, the Olympics and the senior World Cup. More than half of this squad has played under him at youth level at some point. That long-standing relationship shows up on the pitch when things get tough.
Nottingham Forest’s Chris Wood captains his nation and at 34 is almost certainly playing in his last World Cup. His ability to hold the ball up, bring others into play and score when chances come is what New Zealand’s whole attacking game is built around. Liberato Cacace at Wrexham provides quality from left back that gives New Zealand a real attacking outlet, while goalkeeper Alex Paulsen has established himself as first choice.
Prediction: New Zealand will make every opponent work hard for their points. Their organisation, spirit and the Iran opener make them a genuine factor in the fight for the group’s third-place spot.
15 June: Belgium vs Egypt at Lumen Field, Seattle
The headline fixture of Group G. This is the game that defines Egypt’s whole tournament. If Salah produces a moment and Egypt take something from it, the whole group opens up. Belgium need to win convincingly to set the right tone.
16 June: Iran vs New Zealand at SoFi Stadium, Los Angeles
This is the game that decides who fights for third place. Iran are favourites but New Zealand will make it very difficult. A New Zealand win here would be one of the results of the group stage.
21 June: Belgium vs Iran at SoFi Stadium, Los Angeles
Belgium should win this but Iran will make them work for it. Their compact defensive setup will be hard to break down and De Bruyne and Doku will need to be at their best to find a way through.
22 June: New Zealand vs Egypt at BC Place, Vancouver
Egypt are favourites but New Zealand will be organised and difficult. If Egypt have already beaten Belgium, this is a free hit. If they have not, the pressure could show.
27 June: Egypt vs Iran at Lumen Field, Seattle
Very likely to decide who finishes second. Taremi against a defence that relies heavily on domestic players. Salah against a defence that has barely conceded in qualifying. One moment of quality could settle it.
27 June: New Zealand vs Belgium at BC Place, Vancouver
Running at the same time as Egypt vs Iran. If Belgium have already qualified, they may rest players and that gives New Zealand their best shot at a first ever World Cup win.
Belgium go through as group winners and that is not a difficult call. They have the best squad, the most experienced players and a manager who has restored order after the disaster of Qatar. The only real risk is that defensive weakness being exposed by Egypt on the opening day.
Second place comes down to Salah. Egypt with Salah producing his best football is a different team to Egypt without him. He is the difference between them going through and going home. One world-class player in a group like this is enough to make the difference, and Salah is still that player even after a difficult final season at Liverpool.
Iran are not to be dismissed though. Ghalenoei has built a proper team, the record of 30 wins from 42 games does not lie, and Taremi in his last World Cup is a man who will be running through walls to finally get Iran past the group stage. The Egypt versus Iran game on June 27 is the one that will settle second place.
New Zealand will come home proud. They competed, they organised themselves well, and they made every opponent uncomfortable. In a tournament full of big nations and big stories, the All Whites will have their own small story to tell.
