Fifa World Cup: All Whites use pain of Egypt’s post-game party as fuel for must-win clash against Belgium
Thursday, 25 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: The moment the fulltime whistle blew at BC Place, Egypt coach Hossam Hassan grabbed a national team flag and sprinted around the pitch, waving it proudly alongside one of his assistants.
After the game, captain and star forward Mo Salah was filmed celebrating with Egyptian supporters in the streets of Vancouver.
The historic 3-1 victory over the All Whites in their second group G match meant everything to Egypt. Until Monday (NZT), the nation of 120 million had never won a game at a World Cup.
“What happened today is history for us as Egyptians,” Salah said afterwards. “We see a lot of teams win games, but for us as Egyptians, it doesn’t happen often, first time in history.”
It was a painful glimpse of what could have been for the All Whites.
Until halftime, it felt like something special was brewing in British Columbia. Thousands of New Zealand fans marched to BC Place after gathering at bars in the Gastown district. Escorted by police and Fifa officials, they created a trail of white through the city streets.
They dared to dream when Finn Surman’s towering header from a Tim Payne corner gave the All Whites an early 1-0 lead, only for Egypt to overpower them in the second half and score three unanswered goals.
Salah was at the heart of the comeback, scoring one goal and assisting on another in a man of the match display.
Bazeley said it “hurt” watching Egypt celebrate their first World Cup win, knowing how close New Zealand had come to making history themselves.
“All the players talk about it. They’re so proud to be here representing everybody. When you stand for the national anthem and you look up in the corner and you see a big corner of the crowd all in white … We’re so far away, people have come so far to watch us and support us,” he said.
“We gave them something to get excited about in the first half, scoring a great goal and having some great play, but ultimately, we weren’t able to have that celebration at the end of the game, like Egypt had.
“It was carnival time for them with the flags and everything, but that's something that really hurt, seeing that, knowing that, that could be us. We’ll use that to try and be better against Belgium.”
After three games in 1982, three in 2010 and two in 2026, a win on football’s biggest stage continues to elude the All Whites.
They have now recorded four draws, including a 2-2 result against Iran in their tournament opener this year.
The defeat leaves New Zealand needing to make history to advance. They will get one final chance against world No 10 Belgium at BC Place on Saturday (3pm NZT).
The All Whites will start as heavy underdogs. Despite draws against Egypt and Iran, Belgium boast big-name stars including Kevin De Bruyne, Thibaut Courtois, Jeremy Doku, Romelu Lukaku and Leandro Trossard.
If New Zealand can pull it off, it would be the biggest result in the country's football history. The task is daunting, but Bazeley is relishing the opportunity.
“They're a good team. They've got great players. But we talked today about how we have an opportunity to knock Belgium out of the tournament,” he said.
“We still have that opportunity to make history and win a game and get out of the group and now we know what we’ve got to do – beat Belgium or go home.”