The four teams from Group G reached the last game of the first phase of the World Cup, in the early hours of Saturday (27), with a chance of qualifying for the 32nd round, the first of the knockout stages.
Two of them (Belgium and Egypt) were successful, and Iran can still secure its place as one of the best third-placed teams. Only New Zealand was eliminated.
Second in the group, Egypt drew 1-1 with Iran and will face Australia in the 32-team stage next Friday (3). The winner of this duel will face the winner of Argentina x Cape Verde in the round of 16.
Belgium, who finished first after beating New Zealand 5-1, will still have to wait for the group stage to unfold to find out their rival in the knockout stage, who will be one of the best third-placed teams.
Egypt x Iran
The confrontation between the Egyptians and the Iranians, at the Lumen Field stadium, in Seattle (USA), was balanced from the beginning, with both teams going on the attack in search of victory at all times.
The desire was so great that Egypt took the lead after just 4 minutes. Inside the penalty area, star Mo Salah took a shot, but the ball deflected off the defense and was lost in the area. Goalkeeper Beiranvand punched the ball, but didn’t catch it and the ball was left for Saber to shoot hard with a left-hander, into the corner.
At 10 minutes, the referee awarded a penalty from Egyptian Abdelmonem to Iranian Taremi. When taking the shot, Taremi himself took a long time to take the shot, shot poorly, and goalkeeper Shobeir jumped to the left and saved.
The loss of the penalty did not destabilize Iran. On the contrary. In the next play, it tied. Mohammadi received the ball inside the area, cut the mark and crossed the ball. Shobeir made a great save with his fingertips, but the ball was left for Rezaeian to shoot from almost no angle to score.
The rest of the first half passed with great balance and both teams arrived with danger, but without being able to break through the rival defense.
In the second half, Egypt accelerated the pace and began to dominate, always reaching the rival area with danger. Iran, in turn, armed itself to act in counterattacks, but was unsuccessful.
With Belgium’s goals being announced over the stadium’s public address system, the Egyptians knew they needed to win to remain top of the group. Therefore, the African team went forward, but also left spaces behind, which were taken advantage of by the Asian rival.
In stoppage time, the Iranians scored a goal with Khalilzadeh, but the VAR (video referee) disallowed it due to the striker’s foot, which was offside.
In the next move, Iran still hit the crossbar, but was unable to change the score.
New Zealand x Belgium
In the other duel in the group, at the BC Place stadium, in Vancouver, Canada, Belgium completely dominated the game against New Zealand. In the first half alone, there were 16 Belgian shots, 4 of them on goal. The New Zealanders didn’t kick once.
At 10 minutes, Trossard missed a great chance when he received a pass in the penalty area and hit goalkeeper Crocombe’s cross post.
Two minutes later, De Bruyne shot from outside the area, and the New Zealand goalkeeper saved it twice.
At 19 minutes, VAR canceled a penalty awarded by the referee when Trossard’s shot deflected off Surman’s arm inside the area. On the VAR display, the referee noticed that the defender’s arm was glued to his body.
The Belgian pressure continued until the 27th minute, when the goal was scored. In a corner taken in the New Zealand penalty area, the goalkeeper looked on and the ball hit defender Tim Payne’s back, leaving Trossard to shoot into the net.
In the second half, the outlook of the game was the same, with Belgium pressing from all sides to expand.
That’s what happened in the 4th minute, again with Trossard after an assist from De Bruyne, who scored the third in the 20th minute, in his typical move. At the edge of the area, he cut a defender and shot a left-footed cross to beat Crocombe.
In one of the few times they went on the attack, New Zealand pulled one back with Just shooting from the edge of the box after goalkeeper Courtois cleared a corner.
But there wasn’t even time to celebrate because Lukako, who had just entered, completed a header with his first touch of the ball to make it 4-1. Saelemaekers added the fifth in stoppage time, before the final whistle.
LGBTQIA+ pride flags
With authorization from FIFA, fans who went to watch the duel between Egypt and Iran, in the early hours of this Saturday (27), were able to take rainbow flags to the Lumen Field stadium, in Seattle (USA).
The match, valid for Group G, was named the Pride Game by Seattle’s local organizing committee because it is being held during the city’s LGBTQIA+ Pride weekend.
Egypt and Iran even protested after the groups were drawn in December, with the Egyptian Football Federation stating that such events conflict with their cultural and religious values.
FIFA, however, stated that the World Cup is “an inclusive event that welcomes people from all backgrounds” and that rainbow flags are permitted in the stadium.
Remember what Group G was like
The first games in Group G were marked by draws. In their debut, at the Lumen Field stadium in Seattle, Egypt surprised and ended 1-1 with Belgium, who were considered the group’s big favorites.
The Egyptians took the lead with Eman Ashour, assisted by star Mohamed Salah, and the Belgians reached equality with an own goal from Hany, in Lukaku’s first attack attempt shortly after coming off the bench, in the second half.
In the other duel, Iran and New Zealand were also tied: 2-2, at the SoFi Stadium, in Los Angeles. The New Zealand goals were scored by Elijah Just. Rezaeian and Mohammad Mohebi did it for Iran.
In the second round, once again the Belgians did not come out of a draw, this time against Iran. And without goals.
Egypt achieved its first World Cup victory: 3-1 over New Zealand at the Vancouver stadium.
The New Zealanders took the lead with Surman, but the Egyptians turned it around with goals from Zico, Salah and Trezeguet.
