Belgium’s wait for a victory at the 2026 World Cup continues, after they were held to a goalless draw by Iran.
The Red Devils drew another blank in Group G, despite dominating large periods of the clash in Los Angeles.
Rudi Garcia’s side found opposing goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand in fine form, while they played the final 24 minutes with 10 men after Nathan Ngoy’s red card.
In this article, we’ll cover:
Belgium draw another blank
After just one of their first 50 matches at the World Cup ended without a goal, Belgium have now played out two 0-0 draws in their last three games.
That was despite enjoying 70.3% of possession and 23 shots on goal at Los Angeles Stadium – their most without scoring in a World Cup game since 1994 against Saudi Arabia (28).
With the last goal scored by a Belgian player at the finals coming courtesy of Michy Batshuayi’s late winner against Canada on matchday one in 2022, the Red Devils have now attempted 69 shots without success.
Jeremy Doku’s absence due to the impending birth of his child left Belgium lacking pace and power down the wings, while Lukaku’s lack of full fitness was evident up front.
It was full-back Maxim De Cuyper who went closest to scoring for Garcia’s side, but the Brighton man was brilliantly denied by Beiranvand on both occasions.
Belgium will also now have to make do without upcoming defender Ngoy, who paid for a slight lapse in concentration, with his subsequent last-man foul on Medhi Taremi leaving the referee no choice but to give him his marching orders.
He is the fourth Belgian to be sent off at the finals, and first since Steven Defour against South Korea 12 years ago.
Lukaku’s World Cup drought continues
Despite concerns surrounding his fitness, Lukaku was given the opportunity to lead the line, having forced the equaliser from the bench against Egypt.
The forward did manage to created history, though not the kind he had in mind – receiving Belgium’s earliest yellow card at the World Cup (two minutes, 43 seconds) following his early lunge on goalkeeper Beiranvand.
Lukaku struggled to impose himself on the match, otherwise, with just 24 touches and one attempt on goal, while he won only two of the nine duels he contested.
Incredibly, after he was withdrawn in the 73rd minute, Belgium’s all-time leading scorer is now without a goal in his last eight World Cup appearances, since a brace against Tunisia in the 2018 group stage.
Golden Oldies deliver for Iran
Considering their participation alone was under threat at this World Cup, Iran are now very much in contention to progress from the group stages for the very first time.
Team Melli set a new record by naming the oldest starting XI for a match at the finals (since at least 1966), with Ardeshir Ghalenoei’s team boasting an average age of 32 years and 181 days.
Not only that, but they have avoided defeat in their opening two matches at a World Cup for the very first time.
Though heavy underdogs for this clash, Iran did have the ball in the net through Taremi after a cleverly worked free-kick – though the joy was cut short by a VAR review, which revealed him to be offside.
Taremi also saw a brilliant half-volley beaten away by Thibaut Courtois after the break, while goalkeeper Beiranvand came to their rescue a couple of times at the other end of the field.
Team Melli may now have only won three of their 20 matches at the World Cup, but this result will have given them confidence to achieve another – with historic ramifications – in their final Group G outing against Egypt.
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