BEIJING, June 6: Group G of the 2026 FIFA World Cup features Belgium, Iran, Egypt and New Zealand, with experienced stars Kevin De Bruyne, Romelu Lukaku, Mehdi Taremi, Mohamed Salah and Chris Wood leading their respective nations.
Belgium, ranked ninth in the world, are favourites to top the group, while Iran (20th), Egypt (29th) and New Zealand (85th) will be hoping to capitalise on the expanded 48-team format, which allows the top two teams and the eight best third-placed sides to reach the knockout stage.
BELGIUM
The team: Belgium’s golden generation has largely moved on, but De Bruyne, Lukaku and Thibaut Courtois remain key figures as the Red Devils seek another deep World Cup run. Coach Rudi Garcia said his side’s aim is to finish top of the group.Star player: De Bruyne remains Belgium’s creative force, combining vision, passing and goalscoring ability. He has been a fixture in major tournaments since 2014.Player to watch: Lukaku recently ended a year-long international goal drought by scoring in a friendly win over Croatia and will be crucial to Belgium’s attack.
EGYPT
The team: Making their fourth World Cup appearance, Egypt will hope to progress beyond the group stage for the first time.
Star player: Liverpool forward Salah remains the nation’s biggest hope. The tournament could represent his final World Cup opportunity to guide Egypt to a historic first World Cup victory.Player to watch: Manchester City forward Omar Marmoush has emerged as an important attacking partner for Salah after an impressive season in England.
IRAN
The team: Iran have qualified for a seventh World Cup but are still searching for a first appearance in the knockout rounds. Previous wins over the United States, Morocco and Wales highlight their ability to compete on the big stage.Star player: Striker Mehdi Taremi remains Iran’s main attacking threat after successful spells in Portugal and Italy before joining Olympiacos.Player to watch: Dennis Dargahi of Standard Liege is expected to play a key supporting role alongside Taremi in attack.
NEW ZEALAND
The team: New Zealand are appearing in their third World Cup finals and will be chasing their first-ever tournament win after drawing all three matches in 2010.Star player: Captain Chris Wood is the country’s leading attacking weapon, with 45 goals in 89 international appearances.
Player to watch: Veteran defender Tommy Smith brings valuable World Cup experience, having also featured in New Zealand’s 2010 campaign. While Belgium enter the tournament as clear favourites on paper, Group G could prove far more competitive than the rankings suggest. The Red Devils possess the experience, quality and tournament pedigree to finish on top, but Egypt, inspired by the brilliance of Salah and the emergence of Marmoush, will believe they have a genuine opportunity to create history by reaching the knockout rounds for the first time. Iran, meanwhile, have consistently demonstrated their ability to frustrate and trouble higher-ranked opponents at previous World Cups and will view the expanded format as their best chance yet to finally break the group-stage barrier.
New Zealand may be the outsiders, but with a proven goalscorer in Wood and several seasoned campaigners in their ranks, they are unlikely to make life easy for any opponent. (Agencies)
