World Cup 2026, Group G: Belgium the Favourite — Egypt’s Salah Makes the Case for Second

Belgium arrive in Group G wearing the favourite’s tag with an uneasy fit. The golden generation has been fraying at the edges for three seasons — a Nations League group-stage exit, a European Championship last-sixteen stumble, and a coaching change that brought in Rudi Garcia after Domenico Tedesco was dismissed in January 2025. The infrastructure is still formidable: Thibaut Courtois is healthy and back at his best for Real Madrid, Kevin De Bruyne is still directing play from deep at 34, and Romelu Lukaku, despite carrying the injury miles of a 33-year-old who has asked a lot of himself, still holds the shape of a centre-forward who knows exactly how to occupy a backline. This group needs to perform, not just persist.

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Garcia’s 4-3-3 has provided shape to what was becoming a directionless side. The 5-2 win over the United States in a late-March warm-up was the clearest preview of Belgium’s ceiling — De Bruyne and Lukaku in the same rhythm, Jérémy Doku making full-backs pay on the left, Leandro Trossard linking intelligently from the right. When those five are switched on together, Belgium carry one of the better attacking combinations in this tournament. The problem has always been sustaining it. Consistency came and went in qualifying — they lost once and drew twice in ten matches, steady rather than dominant.

Salah and the Weight of Egypt’s Moment

Egypt arrive with a name that carries more weight than their ranking suggests. Mohamed Salah captains the side at what must be one of his final World Cups — he turns 34 in June — and enters the tournament two goals from Hossam Hassan’s Egyptian national team record of 69. The man he is chasing manages the side; successor and predecessor share a technical area. Around Salah, Omar Marmoush matured at Manchester City into a forward who presses without the ball and finishes cleanly when he gets it. The 18-year-old Hamza Abdel Karim, on loan at Barcelona Atletic from Al Ahly, offers the kind of athletic disruption Egypt have rarely had off the bench at a World Cup. Egypt’s realistic target is the knockout round, something the country has never reached at the tournament.

What Egypt lack is defensive organisation against elite pressure. Their route through Group G runs directly through Belgium in the opening fixture in Seattle — and a result there either opens the group or closes it for them. Salah will not be an issue; he raises his level in the matches that ask the most. The question is whether the structure around him can hold when Belgium press with Doku and Trossard from wide positions, and whether Marmoush can generate the supply Salah needs to be decisive rather than isolated.

Iran’s Discipline, New Zealand’s Last Dance

Iran have built their World Cup on Amir Ghalenoei’s counter-attacking structure — the 4-2-3-1 sits deep, covers space, and looks to hurt teams in transition through Alireza Jahanbakhsh’s movement and Mehdi Taremi’s ability to hold up play. Taremi, now at Olympiacos after his Porto years, remains reliable when the ball arrives in the right areas. Alireza Beiranvand is an imposing goalkeeper. Neither Belgium nor Egypt should underestimate Iran on their first two matchdays, when a point from a controlled defensive performance is a legitimate target.

New Zealand arrive as the lowest-ranked side in the tournament at 85th, carrying that knowledge without embarrassment. Darren Bazeley builds the All Whites around Chris Wood, who captains the side at 34 with 45 international goals and almost certainly reaches this World Cup for the last time. Against Belgium and Egypt, the gap is too wide. But Iran on matchday one in Los Angeles offers something closer to a contest, and if Iran play conservatively, New Zealand could be competitive for ninety minutes.

The Lean

Belgium top Group G. Their squad quality, even in the declining-generation context, is too far above Iran and New Zealand to conclude otherwise. The real risk is not exit but disruption: Egypt defeating Belgium in the opener in Seattle, forcing the Red Devils to claw back from behind. Second place is Salah’s to lose. Marmoush and the support cast make Egypt a more complete team than they were in 2022. Iran finishes third, earning points from defensive discipline rather than ambition. New Zealand take the experience and go home.

Watch the Belgium–Egypt fixture in Seattle. If Salah scores and Belgium drop two points on matchday one, this group becomes far more interesting than the table suggests it should be.

Tags: wc26