Group G of the 2026 FIFA World Cup took place from June 15 to 26, 2026. The group consisted of Belgium, Egypt, Iran, and New Zealand. All of the matches in Group G were played at three venues on the West Coast of the United States and Canada: SoFi Stadium in the Greater Los Angeles area; Lumen Field in Seattle; and BC Place in Vancouver.
Belgium topped the group with a crucial win against New Zealand (by five goals to one), with Egypt finishing as group runners-up based on goal difference. Both teams advanced to the round of 32.
Iran finished in third place, and were eliminated as they were out-performed by other teams in third place within their groups, failing to finish as one of the eight best third-place teams. New Zealand finished fourth after a decisive defeat against Belgium, and were also eliminated.
Teams Draw position Team Pot Confederation Method ofqualification Date ofqualification Finalsappearance Lastappearance Previous bestperformance FIFA Rankings November 2025 June 2026 G1 1 UEFA UEFA Group J winner November 18, 2025 15th 2022 Third place (2018) 8 9 G2 3 CAF CAF Group A winner October 8, 2025 4th 2018 First round (1934), group stage (1990, 2018) 34 29 G3 2 AFC AFC third round Group A winner March 25, 2025 7th 2022 Group stage (1978, 1998, 2006, 2014, 2018, 2022) 20 20 G4 4 OFC OFC third round winner March 24, 2025 3rd 2010 Group stage (1982, 2010) 86 85 Notes
Standings
In the round of 32: The winner of Group G, Belgium, advanced to play the third-place team of Group I, Senegal. The runner-up of Group G, Egypt, advanced to play the runner-up of Group D, Australia.
Matches All times listed are local, UTC−7 (PDT).
Belgium vs Egypt
The teams had previously faced each other four times, most recently in 2022, a 2–1 win for Egypt in a friendly.
Egypt took an early lead, but a costly own goal by Mohamed Hany allowed Belgium to equalize and secure a 1–1 draw, despite having previously struggled to break through the formidable Egyptian defense.
GK 1 Thibaut CourtoisRB 15Thomas MeunierCB 25Nathan NgoyCB 4 Brandon MecheleLB 21Timothy Castagne CM 24Amadou Onana CM 8 Youri Tielemans (c)RW 10Leandro TrossardAM 7 Kevin De Bruyne LW 11Jérémy Doku CF 17Charles De Ketelaere Substitutions:MF 23Nicolas Raskin DF 5Maxim De Cuyper FW 9 Romelu Lukaku MF 20Hans Vanaken FW 26Matias Fernandez-Pardo Manager: Rudi Garcia GK 23Mostafa ShobeirRB 3 Mohamed HanyCB 2 Yasser IbrahimCB 14Hamdy Fathy LB 13Ahmed Fatouh CM 19Marwan Attia CM 17Mohanad LasheenRW 11Mostafa Ziko AM 10Mohamed Salah (c) LW 8 Emam Ashour CF 22Omar MarmoushSubstitutions:DF 5Ramy Rabia FW 9Hamza Abdelkarim FW 25 Zizo FW 20Ibrahim Adel DF 15Karim Hafez Manager:Hossam Hassan
Man of the Match: Emam Ashour (Egypt)
Assistant referees: Danilo Manis (Brazil) Rafael Alves (Brazil) Fourth official: Kevin Ortega (Peru) Reserve assistant referee: Michael Orué (Peru) Video assistant referee: Juan Soto (Venezuela) Assistant video assistant referee: Leodán González (Uruguay) Support video assistant referee: Carlos del Cerro Grande (Spain)
Iran vs New Zealand The two teams have faced each other twice, most recently in the 2003 AFC–OFC Challenge Cup, which Iran won by 3–0.
Elijah Just earned his team's lead by making two consecutive goals, but throughout the second half, Mohammad Mohebi leveled the Iranian team in the 64th minute as New Zealand struggled to break through the tie. Ultimately, the match ended with a 2–2 draw.
This marked New Zealand having their fourth draw since their last appearance in 2010, marred by their inconsistencies throughout the match. Ramin Rezaeian was chosen as Man of the Match for the Iranian team.
GK 1 Alireza BeiranvandRB 23Ramin RezaeianCB 4 Shojae KhalilzadehCB 19Ali NematiLB 5 Milad MohammadiCM 14Saman Ghoddos CM 6 Saeid EzatolahiCM 9 Mehdi Taremi (c) RF 8 Mohammad MohebiCF 20Shahriyar Moghanlou LF 17Arya Yousefi Substitutions:FW 10Mehdi Ghayedi FW 11Ali Alipour DF 3 Ehsan Hajsafi FW 18Amirhossein Hosseinzadeh Manager:Amir Ghalenoei GK 1 Max CrocombeRB 2 Tim Payne CB 16Finn SurmanCB 5 Michael BoxallLB 13Liberato Cacace RM 10Sarpreet Singh CM 6 Joe BellCM 8 Marko Stamenić LM 11Elijah JustCF 9 Chris Wood (c)CF 20Callum McCowatt Substitutions:MF 19Ben Old MF 23Ryan Thomas DF 24 Callan Elliot FW 21Jesse Randall DF 4Tyler Bindon Manager: Darren Bazeley
Man of the Match: Ramin Rezaeian (Iran)
Assistant referees: Alberto Morín (Mexico) Marco Bisguerra (Mexico) Fourth official: Yusuke Araki (Japan) Reserve assistant referee: Jun Mihara (Japan) Video assistant referee: Erick Miranda (Mexico) Assistant video assistant referee: Fedayi San (Switzerland) Support video assistant referee: Bastian Dankert (Germany)
Belgium vs Iran
The two teams had never met before.
Both teams struggled to make and all goals throughout the match and ultimately, both teams ended with a clean sheet altogether, with Alireza Beiranvand being chosen as Man of the Match for his consistenies in the match, with Nathan Ngoy being sent off with a straight red card for his reckless tackle.
GK 1 Thibaut CourtoisRB 15Thomas Meunier CB 25Nathan Ngoy CB 4 Brandon MecheleLB 5 Maxim De CuyperCM 23Nicolas Raskin CM 8 Youri Tielemans (c)RW 22Alexis Saelemaekers AM 7 Kevin De Bruyne LW 10Leandro TrossardCF 9 Romelu Lukaku Substitutions:DF 21Timothy Castagne MF 20Hans Vanaken FW 14Dodi Lukébakio DF 3 Arthur Theate FW 26Matias Fernandez-Pardo Manager: Rudi Garcia GK 1 Alireza BeiranvandCB 13Hossein KanaanizadeganCB 4 Shojae KhalilzadehCB 19Ali NematiRWB2 Saleh Hardani LWB 3 Ehsan Hajsafi (c) CM 14Saman Ghoddos CM 6 Saeid Ezatolahi RF 23Ramin RezaeianCF 9 Mehdi TaremiLF 8 Mohammad Mohebi Substitutions:MF 7 Alireza Jahanbakhsh MF 16Mahdi Torabi DF 5 Milad Mohammadi FW 20Shahriyar Moghanlou FW 18Amirhossein Hosseinzadeh Manager:Amir Ghalenoei
Man of the Match: Alireza Beiranvand (Iran)
Assistant referees: Cristian Navarro (Argentina) Gabriel Chade (Argentina) Fourth official: Yusuke Araki (Japan) Reserve assistant referee: Jun Mihara (Japan) Video assistant referee: Hernán Mastrángelo (Argentina) Assistant video assistant referee: Leodán González (Uruguay) Support video assistant referee: Carlos del Cerro Grande (Spain)
New Zealand vs Egypt
The two teams had faced each other three times, most recently in the 2024 FIFA Series, which Egypt won by 1–0.
This was the first World Cup match won by Egypt in its history since their debut in 1934.
New Zealand suffered its first World Cup defeat in 44 years, having exited its last tournament appearance in 2010 during the group stage as the only undefeated team.
GK 1 Max CrocombeRB 2 Tim Payne CB 16Finn SurmanCB 5 Michael BoxallLB 13Liberato Cacace RM 10Sarpreet Singh CM 6 Joe BellCM 8 Marko StamenićLM 11Elijah Just CF 9 Chris Wood (c)CF 20Callum McCowatt Substitutions:MF 19Ben Old MF 23Ryan Thomas FW 21Jesse Randall DF 4 Tyler Bindon DF 3 Francis de Vries Manager: Darren Bazeley GK 23Mostafa ShobeirRB 3 Mohamed HanyCB 2 Yasser IbrahimCB 14Hamdy Fathy LB 13Ahmed FatouhCM 19Marwan AttiaCM 17Mohanad Lasheen RW 11Mostafa Ziko AM 10Mohamed Salah (c) LW 8 Emam Ashour CF 22Omar Marmoush Substitutions:DF 5 Ramy Rabia FW 9 Hamza Abdelkarim FW 7 Trézéguet DF 4 Hossam Abdelmaguid FW 25Zizo DF 6 Mohamed Abdelmonem Manager:Hossam Hassan
Man of the Match: Mohamed Salah (Egypt)
Assistant referees: Mohamed Al-Hammadi (United Arab Emirates) Taleb Al-Marri (Qatar) Fourth official: Kevin Ortega (Peru) Reserve assistant referee: Michael Orué (Peru) Video assistant referee: Mohammed Obaid Khadim (United Arab Emirates) Assistant video assistant referee: Shaun Evans (Australia) Support video assistant referee: Armando Villarreal (United States)
Egypt vs Iran
The two teams had faced each other twice, most recently in the 2000 LG Cup; Egypt won 8–7 on penalties following a 1–1 draw.
A "Pride Match" was planned in advance to take place in Seattle, organized by the local committee to tie into the local celebration and without endorsement by FIFA. After the draw and release of the schedule, it was determined that this match would feature Egypt and Iran, two countries where LGBT rights are severely restricted (see LGBT rights in Egypt and Iran) and homosexuality is punishable by law, including the death penalty in Iran. Seattle's Pride Match Advisory Committee spokesperson said "The Pride Match has been scheduled to celebrate and elevate Pride events in Seattle and across the country and it was planned well in advance." Iranian Football Federation President Mehdi Taj said both countries had "objections" and that the branding was an "irrational move that supports a certain group." Iran was planning to appeal the decision. The Egyptian Football Association also sent a formal letter to FIFA Secretary General Mattias Grafström rejecting "in absolute terms" LGBTQ connections to the game. A day before the match, Iran requested FIFA to ban pride flags inside the stadium, as well as preventing any "ceremonies or promotional activities" in support of the community, which was rejected. Demonstrators against the Iranian government and the criminalization of homosexuality in both competing countries were present around the match, many sporting Pride rainbow.
Following a goal for each team early on, Shojae Khalilzadeh scored three minutes into stoppage time to seemingly secure Iran's first-ever World Cup knockout berth. However, VAR disallowed the strike for offside, forcing Iran to settle for a 1–1 draw. Following a 3–3 draw between Algeria and Austria in Group J and Senegal's 5–0 victory over Iraq in Group I, Iran was eliminated in the group stage. They dropped to 9th place below Senegal in the third-place rankings, marking their seventh overall failure to advance.
With an estimated 107.4 million viewers, this match became the most-watched broadcast in Middle East and North Africa (MENA) history and the most-viewed match of the FIFA World Cup.
GK 23Mostafa ShobeirRB 3 Mohamed HanyCB 5 Ramy RabiaCB 6 Mohamed Abdelmonem LB 13Ahmed FatouhCM 21Mahmoud Saber CM 17Mohanad Lasheen RW 8 Emam Ashour AM 10Mohamed Salah (c) LW 7 TrézéguetCF 11Mostafa Ziko Substitutions:DF 2 Yasser Ibrahim FW 22Omar Marmoush MF 19Marwan Attia FW 25Zizo FW 9 Hamza Abdelkarim Manager:Hossam Hassan GK 1 Alireza BeiranvandCB 13Hossein Kanaanizadegan CB 4 Shojae Khalilzadeh CB 19Ali Nemati RWB23Ramin RezaeianLWB5 Milad MohammadiRM 14Saman Ghoddos CM 6 Saeid Ezatolahi CM 21Mohammad GhorbaniLM 8 Mohammad Mohebi CF 9 Mehdi Taremi (c)Substitutions:DF 2 Saleh Hardani FW 20Shahriyar Moghanlou MF 7 Alireza Jahanbakhsh Manager:Amir Ghalenoei
Man of the Match: Ramin Rezaeian (Iran)
Assistant referees: Tomasz Listkiewicz (Poland) Adam Kupsik (Poland) Fourth official: Yusuke Araki (Japan) Reserve assistant referee: Jun Mihara (Japan) Video assistant referee: (Poland) Assistant video assistant referee: Dennis Higler (Netherlands) Support video assistant referee: Shaun Evans (Australia)
New Zealand vs Belgium
The two teams had never met before.
Belgium scored five goals which were more than enough for the team to ultimately secure their spot at the top of the group, with Leandro Trossard being the Man of the Match. For New Zealand's Elijah Just, this was his third and last goal, though the Belgian team were far too formidable, with New Zealand having fallen to the bottom of the group.
New Zealand failed to secure a single win in its third World Cup appearance, finishing with a lackluster overall record of four draws and five losses across its three tournament campaigns.