Trossard, De Bruyne score and Belgium defeat New Zealand 5-1 to advance at the World Cup
Leandro Trossard scored a pair of goals and Belgium overcame a slow start at the World Cup to advance to the knockout round with a victory over New Zealand
VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- Leandro Trossard scored a pair of goals and Belgium overcame a slow start at the World Cup to advance to the knockout round with a 5-1 victory over New Zealand on Friday night.
With a scoring outburst, Belgium finished atop Group G and will face a third-place finisher on Wednesday in Seattle. The match was played simultaneously to the other group finale in Seattle between Egypt and Iran, which ended in a 1-1 draw.
The Belgians went into the match a surprising third in its group after opening the World Cup with a 1-1 draw against Egypt and a scoreless draw against Iran.
Kevin De Bruyne, Romelu Lukaku and Alexis Saelemaekers also scored for the Belgians, who were eliminated in the group stage in Qatar four years ago after finishing third at the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
Elijah Just scored for New Zealand, which needed to win outright to have a chance at advancing. The All Whites head home without a first-ever World Cup win.
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AP World Cup: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-world-cup