FIFA World Cup

BEL Belgium Belgium - IRN IR Iran IR Iran

Belgium Belgium

IR Iran IR Iran

N. Ngoy
67'

Los Angeles Stadium(70,317 Spectators)

Dario Humberto Herrera

Full-time: Belgium 0-0 Iran

The full-time whistle goes, and Iran earn an excellent point courtesy of a disciplined defensive performance, including a tremendous display from goalkeeper Beiranvand. Belgium will rue a number of missed chances and Ngoy's red card, after which it appeared as if Iran might even conjure up a winner. There's now all to play for in Group G!

End of second half

Full-time

90'

+ 5

Possibly a last chance for Belgium?

Lukébakio tries to curl an attempt into the far-left corner, but the ball spins just wide!

90'

+ 4

Wasted opportunity

Belgian substitute Fernandez-Pardo makes a bit of space for himself and shoots, but he gets right underneath the ball and it ends up in the stands.

90'

+ 3

Impressive defending

Even this late on, the Iranians are throwing themselves at every ball and blocking shots and crosses left, right and centre.

90'

+ 1

Five additional minutes

Will we get a breakthrough goal in stoppage time?

88'

Iran break down the left

The ball makes its way into the box, where a number of Iranians are waiting, but the Belgian defence scramble it away!

87'

Substitution

Matias Fernandez-Pardo

Kevin De Bruyne

86'

Beiranvand denies De Cuyper!

The Iran goalie, who's been excellent today, gets down well to De Cuyper's low effort.

85'

Substitution

Amirhossein Hosseinzadeh

Saeid Ezatolahi

81'

Courtois holds at the second attempt

Ezatolahi strides forward and lets fly, but Courtois makes a fairly comfortable save.

We've got 10 mins to go...

...and this game is anybody's right now. We're in for an exciting climax to the match!

79'

Substitution

Shahriyar Moghanlou

Saman Ghoddos

77'

Will Iran go for a winner?

The Iranians seem unsure whether to stick or twist now, with that red card completely changing the nature - and possible outcome - of this match.

73'

Eintracht's Theate comes on for Belgium

Eintracht Frankfurt defender Arthur Theate makes his World Cup debut, replacing Lukaku. His solidity will likely be needed in the final quarter of an hour!

73'

Substitution

Arthur Theate

Romelu Lukaku

70'

Hydration break time

The Belgians will likely use the break to regroup and rejig their tactics, following that sending-off.

Red card for Ngoy!

Ngoy pulls back Taremi, who appeared to be heading clean through on goal, and referee Herrera has no hesitation in showing the Belgium player the red card. What a moment that could be in the match!

67'

Red card

Nathan Ngoy

66'

Substitution

Mehdi Torabi

Mohammad Mohebi

66'

Substitution

Milad Mohammadi

Ehsan Hajsafi

Incredible passage of play!

Belgium looked certain to score there, but somehow the Iranian defence get away with it. De Bruyne plays the ball in for Lukaku, but it's half-cleared to De Cuyper, who forces an incredible close-range save from Beiranvand. A number of defenders cluster around their goalkeeper and he's able to clutch the ball to his chest.

58'

Changes for Belgium

The Red Devils make three changes, bringing on Lukébakio, Vanaken and Castagne as they go on the hunt for a winner.

58'

Substitution

Dodi Lukébakio

Alexis Saelemaekers

58'

Substitution

Hans Vanaken

Nicolas Raskin

58'

Substitution

Timothy Castagne

Thomas Meunier

53'

Big opportunity for Iran!

Team Melli come close to taking the lead: Taremi swivels and strikes a clean volley goalwards, but Courtois is equal to it!

50'

Close one from Saelemaekers

De Bryune picks out Saelemaekers at the back post, whose volley ends up in the side netting.

47'

End-to-end early on

First, half-time substitute Jahanbakhsh drags his shot inside the Belgium area, then up the other end De Bruyne sees his left-footed effort well blocked. Lively start!

46'

Iran kick off the second half

A big 45 minutes ahead for both teams!

Kick-off!

45'

+ 9

Substitution

Alireza Jahanbakhsh

Saleh Hardani

Half-time: Belgium 0-0 Iran

Despite the lack of goals, it's been an entertaining first half at Los Angeles Stadium. Belgium - for whom De Bruyne and Trossard have looked lively - have dominated possession and created a number of chances, but the Iranian rearguard and their impressive goalkeeper, Beiranvand, have dealt with all goal threats admirably so far. At the other end, Iran thought they'd taken a surprise lead through Taremi, but it was ruled out for offside. All of this augurs well for an intense second half!

Half-time

45'

+ 7

Belgium looking for a breakthrough down the right

De Bruyne and De Cuyper both attempt to get balls over to Lukaku, but the Iran defence holds firm.

45'

+ 6

The Belgians have made over four times...

...the number of passes that Iran have in the first half.

Passes

363

45'

+ 1

We've got eight minutes...

...of injury time in Los Angeles.

44'

Belgium continue to push and prod

Tielemans finds De Cuyper, whose snapshot is saved by Beiranvad’s chest. The Iranian custodian has done really well in this half.

42'

Another half-chance for Belgium

De Bruyne gets on the end of a tremendous long ball by De Cuyper, but he can only poke it wide - unlucky!

39'

De Bruyne bowled over (twice)

De Bruyne has experienced some rough treatment from the Iranian defence over the past couple of minutes, but he's back up on his feet and looks OK.

36'

Lukaku gets a sight of goal

Lukaku powers a header over the bar, but play is pulled back for offside in any case.

33'

Yellow card

Saeid Ezatolahi

Play is back underway

Can either of these teams snatch a goal before half-time?

30'

Time for a cooling break

A bit later than usual, the players head over to the sidelines to hydrate.

Iran 'goal' chalked off

Taremi has the ball in the net after a brilliantly executed free-kick, but it's ruled out for offside, much to the chagrin of the Iranian sections of the crowd.

22'

Tielemans tests Beiranvand!

The dynamic midfielder fires in a shot from the angle, but the Iran 'keeper parries it wide.

20'

Belgium are moving the ball nicely

It's just the final ball that's lacking right now.

14'

Big chance for Iran!

The ball bobbles about in the Belgium penalty area and Kanani reacts first, sending a useful-looking volleyed effort towards goal. Courtois, at full stretch, makes a fine save! Ezatolahi then heads narrowly wide from the resulting corner. First real sign of life from Iran!

Belgium have dominated the opening exchanges...

...but Iran look capable on the break. Intriguing stuff so far.

Closest thing to a goal

De Bruyne's shot is blocked initially. The loose ball falls to De Cuyper who looks likely to score but instead hits it straight at Beiranvand!

Well over from De Bruyne

The former Wolfsburg star cuts inside and tries to loop the ball into the far corner, but he gets underneath the ball and it soars over the bar.

Lukaku and Beiranvand collide

De Bruyne plays in a good ball for Lukaku - the Iranian 'keeper gets there ahead of him but Lukaku can't stop himself from clattering into him, and gets a yellow card for his trouble.

Yellow card

Romelu Lukaku

Change of formation for Iran

The Iranians look to be set up in a 5-4-1, with Taremi ploughing a lone furrow up front.

Belgium get the ball rolling

We're underway! It's a crunch match for both teams.

Kick-off!

The anthems are resonating throughout the stadium

Not long to go now.

Kick-off fast approaching!

We've got about 15 minutes to go in Los Angeles.

More on that Iran line-up

Iran, meanwhile, make three changes: Hardani, Kanani and Hajisafi are in, while Yousefi, Moghanlou and Rezeaelen drop to the bench.

More on that Belgium line-up

Belgium coach Garcia makes four changes to the side that drew with Egypt. Castagne is replaced by De Cuyper, Raskin comes in for Onana, Saelemaekers switches in for Doku (ill), and up front, Lukaku (pictured) is selected ahead of De Ketelaere.

Starting line-up: IR Iran

Formation:5-4-1

Iran subs

Alipour, Cheshmi, Dargahi, Eiri, Ghayedi, Ghorbani, Hosseini, Hosseinzadeh, Jahanbakhsh, Moghanlou, Mohammadi, Niazmand, Razzaghinia, Torabi, Yousefi

Starting line-up: Belgium

Formation:4-2-3-1

Belgium subs

Castagne, De Ketelaere, De Winter, Fernandez-Pardo, Witsel, Lammens, Lukébakio, Onana, Penders, Seys, Theate, Vanaken, Moreira

0:51

Watch: The best of Theate

One Bundesliga star who could feature for Belgium against Iran is Frankfurt's Arthur Theate. The defender was ever-present at the back for The Eagles last season, where he put in some impressive performances.

What's at stake?

Having drawn their opening Group G matches, both sides go into this contest knowing a defeat will put them in real danger of exiting at the group stage. By contrast, with most third-place finishers advancing to the Round of 32, a resounding win for either Belgium or Iran today will all but seal their place in the knockouts.

The venue

Today's match will take place at Los Angeles Stadium, better known as SoFi Stadium, one of the showpiece venues of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Located in Inglewood, the 70,000-capacity arena is hosting eight matches during the tournament, including a quarter-final. Opened in 2020, it is home to two NFL teams - the Rams and the Chargers.

Historic meeting

This is the first encounter between Belgium and Iran at senior international level, as the two sides have so far avoided playing each other at major tournaments.

Last time out: Iran

Iran twice came from behind in Los Angeles as they earned an opening point in Group G and denied New Zealand a first win at a World Cup.

Last time out: Belgium

Belgium came from behind to draw 1-1 with Egypt in their opener. Eintracht Frankfurt man Arthur Theate was an unused substitute for the Red Devils.

Welcome!

Follow all of the action as Belgium take on Iran in Group G of the FIFA World Cup 2026, with the game kicking off at 9.00pm CEST in Los Angeles.