JAKARTA - The star-studded Belgian team is still not winning at the 2026 World Cup. Relying on Kevin De Bruyne and centre forward Romelu Lukaku, Belgium failed to win and was only able to draw 0-0 against Iran in the second match of Group G at the Los Angeles Stadium, United States, Monday, June 22, 2026 early morning WIB.
Lukaku got support from De Bruyne and Leandro Trossard who also helped Arsenal win the English Premier League title for the first time after waiting 22 years.
However, the row of goal-hungry players, including Alexis Saelemaekers, did not even flinch against the Iranian defense line. In fact, Belgium almost lost if Mehdi Taremi's goal was not annulled by the referee.
The Olympiacos striker, who once led Inter Milan to win the Scudetto, successfully broke Thibaut Courtois's goal after receiving a pass from Ehsan Hajsafi in the 25th minute. However, the goal was annulled because after being reviewed by VAR, Taremi was in an offside position.
The draw for the second time in the group stage makes Belgium's position very vulnerable. The reason is that Rudi Garcia's team has only collected two points and will drop in the rankings if New Zealand or Egypt get points.
On the other hand, Iran could even occupy the top of the standings. Having the same points as Belgium, but they are ahead of the goal difference. However, Iran will not stay long at the top because it can be displaced by New Zealand or Egypt.
In the match, Belgium actually made a brilliant start. They dominated from the start of the match and immediately took the initiative to attack. Even Belgium's ball possession reached 77 percent in the first 10 minutes. But their attack was meaningless and easily broken by Iran's back line.
Interestingly, even though they defended more, Iran almost won when Taremi's goal was not ruled out by the referee. When the match resumed, Belgium, which relied on the creativity of De Bruyne and Youri Tielemans, still had difficulty. Moreover, goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand performed brilliantly so that the score remained 0-0 until halftime.
Entering the second half, Belgium again took control of the game and created a number of opportunities. They still dominated even though no goal was scored.
The situation changed drastically when Belgium had to play with 10 players in the 66th minute. Nathan Ngoy received a red card after committing a foul against Taremi who managed to grab the ball due to a mistake by the Belgian player. As a result, Taremi was left face to face with Courtois who forced Ngoy to break him. As a result, he was sent off by the referee.
Overwhelming the number of players, Iran began to be more daring to press and several times threatened the Belgian goal. However, Courtois showed his quality as one of the best goalkeepers in the world. The Belgian goal remained safe under the guard of the Real Madrid goalkeeper.
On the other hand, Beiranvand became a star for Iran with a series of important saves. The 33-year-old goalkeeper recorded seven saves throughout the match and scored without goals until the end of the match.
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