Trossard Double and De Bruyne Star as Belgium Hit Five Past New Zealand
Belgium signed off the group stage with an emphatic statement, brushing aside New Zealand 5–1 at BC Place behind a Leandro Trossard double and a commanding display from Kevin De Bruyne.
Trossard set the tone, opening the scoring in the 28th minute and adding his second early in the second half in the 50th minute to put Belgium in complete control. De Bruyne, orchestrating the play with his familiar range of passing, capped his own fine performance with a goal in the 66th minute to make it 3–0 and effectively end the contest.
To their credit, New Zealand never stopped competing. Elijah Just pulled a goal back in the 84th minute, a moment of reward for a side that had chased the game for much of the evening and refused to let their heads drop.
Belgium, though, had the quality to finish in style. Romelu Lukaku marked his outing with a goal in the 86th minute, and Alexis Saelemaekers added a fifth deep into stoppage time to round off a ruthless attacking display.
For Belgium, it is the kind of result that builds momentum at exactly the right moment. With De Bruyne pulling the strings and goals coming from across the team, they head into the knockout rounds with confidence high.
For New Zealand, the scoreline is harsh on their effort, but the gulf in quality was evident. Just's goal offers a moment to cherish from a campaign that has been about belonging on the biggest stage.
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⚽ Goals (6)
Cards (2)
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New Zealand
Belgium
