Red Devils roar to life: Belgium thrash New Zealand 5-1 to win Group G and reach the last 32

Belgium produced a 33-shot demolition of New Zealand, winning 5-1 to top Group G on goal difference and reach the Round of 32. Leandro Trossard struck twice, Kevin De Bruyne ran the show, and Romelu Lukaku scored 64 seconds off the bench. Elijah Just grabbed a New Zealand consolation; Thibaut Courtois set a Belgian World Cup record.

Belgium picked the perfect moment to come alive. After opening the tournament with two flat draws, the Red Devils tore New Zealand apart 5-1 in Vancouver to win Group G on goal difference and march into the Round of 32. It was a statement of intent from a side that had been long on talent and short on conviction.

The numbers were brutal: thirty-three shots to six, ten on target, and a remarkable seventy-seven touches inside the New Zealand box. Belgium did not just win, they suffocated the All Whites and ran the tempo from the first whistle to the last.

Leandro Trossard was the star. The Arsenal forward opened the scoring on twenty-eight minutes with a poacher's finish from a corner, then produced the goal of the game five minutes after the break, a spectacular chest-and-volley to double the lead. Two very different finishes, both clinical.

In the middle of it all was the captain. Kevin De Bruyne, named Player of the Match, dictated everything from deep and capped his masterclass with a brilliant low strike on sixty-six minutes to make it three. On this form, Belgium look like genuine contenders rather than the nearly-men of recent tournaments.

Coach Rudi Garcia's call to bench Romelu Lukaku for Trossard was vindicated, and Lukaku still made his mark: introduced late, he headed home just sixty-four seconds after stepping onto the pitch, then turned provider for Alexis Saelemaekers to apply the fifth deep in stoppage time.

There was late drama in the group picture. When Elijah Just lashed in a lovely consolation volley on eighty-four minutes, it briefly dropped Belgium to second behind Egypt on goal difference. The responses from Lukaku and Saelemaekers within minutes restored the plus-four cushion and vaulted Belgium back to the top of Group G. Spare a thought too for Thibaut Courtois, who set a Belgian record with his eighteenth career World Cup appearance.

For New Zealand, it was a sobering end. Darren Bazeley's side, the lowest-ranked team at the finals, leave with a single point and plenty of pride from earlier in the group, but no answer to a Belgium side that finally clicked after draws with Egypt and Iran.

For Kenya, the headline was elsewhere in the group. With the All Whites well-beaten, local fans spent the night calculator-watching, and there was relief that Egypt held on to advance as runners-up and keep the African flag flying in the knockouts. Mara nzuri Egypt wamepita, bara letu bado liko kwa ng'ang'ano: at least Egypt are through, the continent is still in the fight. Our Africa round-one verdict tracked the continent's hopefuls, while our Europe verdict had warned that this Belgium had a gear like this in them.