New Zealand 1-5 Belgium: Leandro Trossard emulates Eden Hazard in World Cup crushing

The 3rd clip was the charm for Belgium astatine the 2026 World Cup, wherever the Red Devils qualified for the past 32 successful emphatic manner with a 5-1 triumph implicit New Zealand successful their Group G finale.

In a conception wherever each fates were yet to beryllium decided earlier the last matchday, Arsenal's Leandro Trossard came up clutch, scoring doubly earlier Kevin De Bruyne, Romelu Lukaku and Alexis Saelemaekers added immoderate precocious gloss to the scoreline.

The second has hogged the Belgian spotlight for years, but tonight's Trossard masterclass signalled a passing of the torch.

New Zealand 1-5 Belgium: What conscionable happened?

Languishing successful 3rd spot successful the Group G standings earlier the last circular of matches, Belgium came retired each guns blazing against a New Zealand broadside conscionable 1 spot and 1 constituent worse off.

Despite the marginal quality betwixt the 2 teams successful the rankings, the disparity successful prime showed during the bottom-of-the-table battle, which Rudi Garcia's men dominated from the archetypal whistle.

Trossard bounced backmost from having a punishment for handball overturned by striking archetypal successful the 28th minute, earlier doubling Belgium's vantage 5 minutes aft the restart.

And determination was clip for the legendary De Bruyne and Lukaku to person their names work retired connected the loudspeaker too, but Trossard yet delivered the goals his World Cup displays person warranted.

New Zealand 1-5 Belgium: The large talking point

While failing to travel up with a nonstop extremity engagement successful Belgium's archetypal 2 games against Egypt and Iran, it was not for a deficiency of trying from Trossard, whose authorization dilatory grew arsenic the tourney went on.

The Arsenal winger created 3 chances against Egypt to nary avail, earlier fashioning six against Iran, but the antheral who truthful often has a important extremity successful him for the Gunners fto his shooting bash the talking tonight.

Recently bestowed with the fig 10 garment that Eden Hazard donned for implicit a decennary with Belgium, Trossard followed successful the footsteps of the ex-Chelsea winger, who besides scored doubly astatine the World Cup with that iconic jersey against Tunisia successful 2018.

New Zealand 1-5 Belgium: The bigger picture

With De Bruyne and Lukaku inactive going beardown and excelling for their federation for years, Trossard has been forced to instrumentality a much peripheral relation wrong the nationalist squad setup, astatine slightest successful presumption of status.

However, arguably Belgium's 2 top players ever are present successful the twilight of their careers, and Lukaku was notably benched aft a dismal show from the archetypal whistle against Iran.

The 1994-born Trossard is not young for a footballer, but the wide antheral demonstrated his quality to travel bully erstwhile it matters most, an invaluable prime that Arsenal fans are each excessively alert of.

Fulham, Sunderland and West Ham United were each subjected to game-defining Trossard moments successful the 2025-26 Premier League, and the 31-year-old whitethorn conscionable beryllium to beryllium Garcia's main antheral successful the knockout rounds.