What the All Whites need to make the Fifa World Cup knockout stage, as they meet Belgium
Wednesday, 24 June 2026
What: Fifa World Cup group G, All Whites v Belgium. Where: BC Place Stadium, Vancouver. When: 3pm Saturday (NZT), TVNZ 1 and TVNZ+ (free to air).
Vancouver: History was what the All Whites were after at the 2026 Fifa World Cup.
But with two of their three group G matches done and dusted, they are still chasing their first win, and still chasing a place in the knockout stage.
They now need to beat world No 10 Belgium on Saturday (3pm NZT) at the scene of their 3-1 loss to Egypt to achieve those goals and keep their campaign going past the group stage.
Captain Chris Wood believes his side can beat Belgium, but admitted: “It’s going to be tough”.
Veteran centre back Michael Boxall was also resolute: “We're still in this and we're going to give it everything we've got”.
Just like in their first match – a 2-2 draw with Iran – the All Whites took the lead against Egypt, this time through a Finn Surman header at a corner early in the first half, but were unable to hold onto it.
The All Whites have now led for 100 minutes across three World Cup matches and have played eight in total without registering a win.
But if they can finally get over the line against Belgium – a big ‘if’ – they will almost certainly have another match on the cards in North America, in the round of 32.
Egypt face Iran at Lumen Field in Seattle at the same time on Saturday and the result in the other group G match will factor into the permutations.
If the All Whites win and Egypt win or draw, they will advance in second place and play their first World Cup knockout match in Dallas on July 4 (NZT), against either Australia or Paraguay, the runners-up from group D.
If they win and Iran win, the All Whites will finish third in group G with four points and a goal difference no worse than -1.
Their progression will then depend on whether they are one of the eight best third-placed teams, with the records of eight of the other 11 contenders set to be known by the time their match kicks off.
If they do make it, they will play their round of 32 match either on July 1 in New Jersey, against the winner of group I, likely France or Norway, or July 3 in Vancouver, against the winner of group D, either Canada or Switzerland.
The All Whites have never faced Belgium before and have never beaten a top 10 team, managing just two draws alongside 10 losses in the 12 such matches they have played since the Fifa rankings were introduced in 1993.
But when they look at Belgium’s two results so far – a 1-1 draw with Egypt where they came from behind to equalise and a 0-0 draw with Iran where they played the last 23 minutes with 10 men – they won’t be daunted.
They also know Belgium’s first two results mean they likely need a win themselves to advance.
If nothing else, they at least have clarity.
Coach Darren Bazeley said: “Can we take the best parts of our Iran performance, the best parts of today's performance, and turn it into a historic moment for the country where we win at the World Cup and get out of the group?”
Wood said: “We’ve just got to believe”.
“We’ve done extremely well on the world stage already. We've got to believe we can go take it to some of the best teams in the world and that's what we're here to do. It's the World Cup for a reason, I believe this side can beat Belgium, it’s going to be tough, no matter what, but it’s what we’re here for.”
Looking forward to the Belgium match, Boxall said: “Recovery is going to be huge these next two or three days.
“Obviously, they've kind of stuttered out of the gates with draws against Iran and Egypt, but they have world-class players on that side.
“We're going to have to find a way to raise the bar again from that first half [against Egypt] and from the Iran game and find a way to put a complete performance together over 90 minutes.
“We're still in this, and we're going to give it everything we've got”.