World Cup Group G Preview

Group G

Belgium → Qualified as UEFA group winner, ranked 9th in the FIFA rankings

Egypt → Qualified as CAF group winner, ranked 29th in the FIFA rankings

Iran → Qualified as AFC group winner, ranked 21st in the FIFA rankings

New Zealand → Qualified as OFC playoff winner, ranked 85th in the FIFA rankings


Belgium Team Preview

Belgium went undefeated in their qualifying group to advance to the World Cup, although it was one of the easier groups. They have been on a good run of form since 2024 where they collapsed in the UEFA Nations League. They have beaten or tied their last four opponents, all who qualified for the World Cup, by a combined score of 13-3. They have an easier group on paper so I do think they will advance, but I never trust them in the long run. 


Egypt Team Preview

The Egyptians are back in the World Cup for the second time this century and ready to do better than they did in Russia, losing all three games. They were unscathed in their qualifying group with Burkina Faso being the team that challenged them the most. They made it to the semi-finals of the AFCON tournament before losing to Senegal and then getting fourth place after a shootout loss to Nigeria. Led by Moahmed Salah and Trezeguet, the Pharaohs are looking to advance from the group stage for the first time since 1934. 


Iran Team Preview

Iran is in their fourth straight World Cup but they haven’t been able to advance from the group stage in any of those or other appearances. They are led by a very dangerous striker in Mehdi Taremi and are not a team to overlook. They had a great qualifying round and while they have had up and down results recently, they can score a lot of goals when they need to. There are obvious political issues going on with Iran and the US which is overshadowing a great team. I hope that the Iranians can put on a show for their country and go far in the tournament. 


New Zealand Team Preview

New Zealand has made history as the first ever Oceania team to auto-qualify for the World Cup after beating New Caledonia in the OFC playoff final. They had an “easy” run to the World Cup, winning all five games, giving up only one goal and outscoring their opponents 29-1. Since their final qualification match in March of last year, the Kiwis have won just two games and drawn once, which is not a great recipe coming into the tournament. This will be the third World Cup appearance for New Zealand who are looking to win their first game ever at the tournament. 


Ben’s Predictions


Best Game: Belgium vs Iran

As this category usually goes, I believe the best game will be between the best two teams of the group on paper. Belgium is always predicted to go far and I believe that Iran is going to be playing with significant passion because of the tension in their country right. Watch out for Iran to shock Belgium here for a bit.


Underrated Game: Belgium vs New Zealand

Belgium’s biggest issue going into the tournament is their defense as one of their top defenders, Zeno Debast, won’t be back until this game. If Belgium are tripped up against Iran or Egypt they may need a result here. On the other side of things, we don’t fully know what New Zealand is going to look like, but we know they can score a lot of goals. This game looks like an easy Belgium win on paper, but the Kiwis have a lot to prove in this game.


Dark Horse: New Zealand

As mentioned just above, we don’t really know what New Zealand is going to look like at the World Cup. We know they can score a lot of goals but an argument against that is that they all came against poor Oceania sides. They are limping into the World Cup losing 9 of their last 11 games, but none of that matters once the tournament starts. Watch out for a lot of potential goals from these guys. 


Let Down Team: Belgium

Whether it is the UEFA Nations League, the Euro, or the World Cup, I have never been able to trust Belgium and their “Golden Generation”. Their best result of this generation came eight years ago in Russia when they got third, but not what they were ever hoping for. They are aging out of this generation and an argument could be made that they are too old and reliant on their older players. If a team is going to falter in this group, it will be Belgium.


Final Group Stage Results

  1. Belgium

  2. Iran

  3. Egypt*

  4. New Zealand

*Egypt advances as a top third place finisher.


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