Trossard and De Bruyne Masterclass Destroys New Zealand to Top Group G
VANCOUVER — Belgium’s heavyweights delivered a resounding reminder of their enduring class on Friday night. A masterclass from Leandro Trossard and Kevin De Bruyne guided the Red Devils to a clinical 5-1 demolition of New Zealand, sealing top spot in Group G and extinguishing the All Whites' World Cup ambitions. The triumph sees Domenico Tedesco’s outfit edge out Egypt on goal difference, with both heavyweights finishing the opening phase on five points from three outings. Iran, which managed a 1-1 draw with the Pharaohs in the concurrent fixture, finished third on three points, while New Zealand bowed out at the foot of the table with a solitary point. Belgium now advances to the round of 32, where a favourable matchup against one of the tournament's best third-placed teams awaits. "We have performed very well," a beaming Trossard said after his player-of-the-match performance. "We are happy now because we're number one. Now we have to go to the round of 32, and we're all ready to deliver. I think we're growing into the tournament, myself as well."  From the opening whistle under the Vancouver roof, the European side imposed an iron grip on midfield transitions, suffocating New Zealand with relentless, intricate possession. The pressure was near-constant. Trossard was desperately unlucky not to break the deadlock in the 11th minute when his curling effort rattled the upright. Moments later, the Arsenal forward provoked a penalty shout when his goal-bound strike struck the arm of Kiwi defender Finn Surman. However, a lengthy VAR intervention spared New Zealand, with the referee ruling that Surman’s arm was in a natural position. The breakthrough felt inevitable, and it arrived with precision in the 28th minute. De Bruyne cut open the Kiwi rearguard with a trademark flashing cross, leaving Trossard with the simplest of tasks to tuck the ball home from point-blank range. The Trossard-De Bruyne telepathy was on full display again five minutes into the second half. De Bruyne floated an exquisite chipped ball over the defensive line, and Trossard timed his run to perfection, cushioned the ball beautifully on his chest, and slammed a volley past Alex Paulsen before the keeper could react. New Zealand briefly showed signs of life when Elijah Just forced a sharp, diving save from Thibaut Courtois in the 54th minute—the Real Madrid shot-stopper’s first real assignment of the night. Yet any hope of a Kiwi fightback was swiftly extinguished by the peerless De Bruyne. Turning from provider to executioner, the 34-year-old maestro collected a pass from Trossard on the edge of the area, shifted the ball onto his left foot with a deft touch, and rifled a low drive into the bottom corner. In doing so, De Bruyne etched his name deeper into folklore, becoming the oldest player to score for Belgium at a World Cup, a feat that triggered a deafening rendition of "Oh Kevin De Bruyne" from the travelling faithful.  Just managed a consolation goal for Darren Bazeley’s men in the 84th minute, exploiting a rare lapse in the Belgian defence to slide the ball home. But it only angered the beast. Romelu Lukaku, introduced from the bench, rose highest in the 89th minute to power home a ferocious header, establishing himself as Belgium's outright all-time top scorer at World Cups with six goals, eclipsing the legendary Marc Wilmots. Deep into stoppage time, Alexis Saelemaekers completed the rout with a tidy fifth, compounding a miserable evening for an All Whites side still desperately chasing their first-ever World Cup victory. "The result hurts," a sombre New Zealand manager, Darren Bazeley, admitted. "I'm proud of the performance and the work-rate. We had to deal with a very good team for very long periods today. The experience of this is going to make us better. It hurts right now because we came to get out of the group and we haven't done that, but we had chances to do it."
