A new surprise occurred at the World Cup of football in Canada, Mexico and the USA. Big favourites, the Belgian team finished tied, 0-0, with Iran, in group G. The two teams have two points each.
The Belgians dominated the first part of the match in Los Angeles, as evidenced by the 77% possession, as well as the 17 shots sent to the goal of the Asians. However, the “Red Devils” did not have many chances to score.
First (minute 7), De Bruyne shot wide. And Tielemans imitated him in the 22nd minute. To the disappointment of the supporters in the stands.
The Iranians, on the other hand, managed to score with an intelligently executed free kick, in the 24th minute, by Taremi, but the goal was not validated due to the offside where the scorer was. Also, Salemaekers sent wide of the goal, in the 51st minute, for Begian goalkeeper Courtois to reject the ball sent by Taremi, in the 53rd minute, for a corner.
Iranian goalkeeper Beiranvand saved his team on several occasions
The Iranian goalkeeper Beiranvand also had a remarkable evolution. He intervened to save De Cuyper’s shot, in the 59th minute.
The Belgians were down to ten men in the 66th minute, when the 23-year-old defender Ngoy fouled Taremi from the position of the last defender, being promptly eliminated by the referee.
In the 81st minute, De Bruyne lost a ball in his own half, Ezatolahi collected the ball and shot from outside the 16-yard box, but Courtois made a two-time save.
The goalkeeper Beinravand also made an excellent intervention in the 86th minute, on De Cuyper’s shot from the box. Then Lukebakio sent vinclu past (min. 90+5), and the Belgium-Iran match ended 0-0, this being the third tie recorded in as many matches played in Group G.
Courtois played match number 17 at the Football World Cup
In this match, Thibaut Courtois equaled the World Cup appearances record for a Belgian (17), held by Enzo Scifo. On the other side, Alireza Jahanbakhsh played his 100th match for the Iran team.
Australia managed the first big surprise since the football WC, overcoming Turkey!
In their final group matches on Saturday 27 June at 7.00, Belgium face New Zealand and Iran host Egypt.
Belgium – Iran 0-0
LOS ANGELES (June 21, 2026) * Stadium: Los Angeles * Referee: Dario Herrera (Argentina) * Assistant referees: Cristian Navarro, Gabriel Chade (all from Argentina) * Referee no. 4: Yusuke Araki (Japan) * Reserve Assistant Referee: Jun Mihara (Japan) * Video referee: Hernan Mastrangelo (Argentina) * Video assistant referees: Leodan Gonzalez (Uruguay), Carlos Del Cerro Grande (Spain)
Yellow cards: Lukaku (min. 3), Ezatolahi (min. 33)
Red card: Nathan Ngoy (min. 66)
Belgium: 1. Thibaut Courtois – 15. Thomas Meunier (21. Timothy Castagne, 58), 25. Nathan Ngoy, 4. Brandon Mechele, 5. Maxim De Cuyper – 23. Nicolas Raskin (20. Hans Vanaken, 58), 8. Youri Tielemans (capt.) – 22. Alexis Saelemaekers (14. Dodi Lukebakio, 58), 7. Kevin De Bruyne (26. Matias Fernandez-Pardo, 87), 10. Leandro Trossard – 9. Romelu Lukaku (3. Arthur Theate, 73).
Unused reserves: 12. Senne Lammens, 13. Mike Penders – 16. Koni De Winter, 18. Joaquin Seys, 6. Axel Witsel, 19. Diego Moreira, 24. Amadou Onana, 17. Charles De Ketelaere.
Coach: Rudi Garcia
Iran: 1. Ali Reza Beiranvand – 2. Saleh Hardani (7. Alireza Jahanbakhsh, 46), 4. Shoja Khalilzadeh, 13. Hossein Kanani, 19. Ali Nemati, 3. Ehsan Hajisafi (5. Milad Mohammadi, 66) – 14. Saman Ghoddos (20. Shahriyar Moghanloo, 79), 6. Saeid Ezatolahi (18. Amirhossein Hosseinzadeh, 85), 23. Ramin Rezaeian – 8. Mohammad Mohebbi (16. Mahdi Torabi, 66), 9. Mehdi Taremi (capt.).
Unused reserves: 12. Payam Niazmand, 22. Hossein Hosseini – 17. Arya Yousefi, 25. Danial Iri, 15. Roozbeh Cheshmi, 21. Mohammad Ghorbani, 26. Amirmohammad Razaghinia, 10. Mehdi Ghayedi, 11. Ali Alipour, 24. Dennis Dargahi.
Coach: Amir Ghalenoei
Group G
Matches played
June 15, 2026
Belgium – Egypt 1-1
June 16, 2026
Iran – New Zealand 2-2
June 21, 2026
Belgium – Iran 0-0
Ranking
1. Iran 2 points (0)
2. Belgium 2 points (0)
3. New Zealand 1 point (0)
4. Egypt 1 point (0)
Next games
June 22, 2026
5:00 a.m.: New Zealand – Egypt
June 27, 2026
7:00 a.m.: Egypt – Iran
7:00 a.m.: New Zealand – Belgium
