World Cup 2026 Group G preview: Belgium, Egypt, Iran & New Zealand — two Vancouver host matches

Group G has a clear favourite, a genuine fight for second, and — for Ontario and Canadian fans — a real gift: two of its matches are played in Vancouver, bringing some of world football’s biggest names to BC Place. Here’s the group team by team, the host matches in detail, and how it’s priced. It pairs with our Toronto and Vancouver matches guide and the main World Cup betting guide.

Belgium — the favourites, on their last chance

Belgium are the overwhelming group favourites, and there’s an end-of-era weight to it. This is the last World Cup for what was meant to be a golden generation — Kevin De Bruyne, Romelu Lukaku, Thibaut Courtois and others — a group that took third at Russia 2018 but flopped out of the group at Qatar 2022. Analysts widely expect them to win Group G comfortably; anything less than a near-clean sweep would count as a disappointment for the Red Devils.

The risk is the same one that undid them in Qatar: an ageing core can fade across a tournament, and the pressure of a “last chance” can weigh as much as it motivates.

Egypt — Salah and the challenger’s role

Egypt are the likeliest challenger to Belgium, and the reason is obvious: Mohamed Salah, one of the world’s elite forwards, alongside Omar Marmoush. Egypt have qualified four times but never advanced past the group stage, and this is their best chance to change that.

Their weakness is reliance on Salah. If Belgium or Iran can shut him down on the right, Egypt have to find goals from set pieces and supporting runners — which makes them dangerous but a touch one-dimensional.

Iran — the experienced spoiler

Iran are the most experienced team in the group, built around a core of seasoned players under coach Amir Ghalenoei, with Mehdi Taremi a striker capable of deciding a match in a single moment. They’re Egypt’s main rival for second. The off-field pressure around the team in recent months is the variable that could work against them — international tournaments reward focus, and a distracted squad can underperform a talented one.

New Zealand — the outsiders, at home in Vancouver

This is New Zealand’s third World Cup appearance (after 1982 and 2010), and they famously went unbeaten in 2010 — three draws — without advancing. Their challenge is absorbing Belgium and Egypt’s quality for 90 minutes without conceding too much, and their hopes of advancing likely hinge entirely on the Iran game. For Vancouver fans, though, they’re the home-soil team of this group: two of their matches are at BC Place. There’s a quiet romance to that — a side that famously left South Africa 2010 unbeaten yet eliminated, getting two home-continent fixtures to make a different kind of memory. Realistically they’re the longest shot in the group, but as the home-soil team of Group G they’ll have plenty of neutral Canadian support, and an upset against Iran would change their tournament entirely.

The Vancouver host matches: New Zealand vs Egypt (June 21) and New Zealand vs Belgium (June 26)

Group G is a genuine prize for Vancouver. BC Place hosts two of its fixtures: New Zealand vs Egypt on June 21, and New Zealand vs Belgium on June 26 — which means Canadian fans on the west coast get Mohamed Salah and then Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku on home soil within a week. For a single group, that’s an exceptional concentration of star power reaching Canadian turf.

For a bettor based in Ontario, these are two of the most watchable non-Canada matches of the group stage, and both carry real betting weight. New Zealand vs Egypt is, on paper, Egypt’s chance to put points on the board and stake their second-place claim — a match where Salah’s involvement will drive the player-prop markets. New Zealand vs Belgium is the favourites flexing, where the interesting markets are less “who wins” and more the margin, totals and player props (a De Bruyne assist line, a Lukaku goalscorer market). Every licensed Ontario sportsbook will run deep markets and live in-play betting on both. If you’re attending at BC Place, note the regulatory wrinkle from our host-cities guide: Vancouver is in British Columbia, where legal online betting runs through BCLC’s PlayNow, and your Ontario iGO apps are geofenced and won’t take bets while you’re physically in BC.

How the group is priced

As of June 1, 2026, the shape is Belgium clear at the top, with Egypt and Iran scrapping for the runner-up place and New Zealand the longest of the four. The markets to know: group winner (Belgium’s to lose), to advance (Egypt and Iran the live cases, with the eight best third-placed qualifiers giving even the loser of that battle a route), and the individual match lines. We describe the market shape; we don’t issue a pick. Our futures guide covers how these markets are built.

The race for second: Egypt vs Iran

With Belgium expected to win the group, the live betting question is the Egypt–Iran fight for second, and it’s a close one. Iran are rated marginally higher on experience and balance — the most seasoned side in the group, with Taremi a genuine match-decider — while Egypt look more dangerous in pure attacking terms because of Salah. That’s the classic “solid versus spiky” matchup: Iran are the steadier bet to grind out points, Egypt the higher-ceiling, higher-variance option whose fortunes rise and fall with how well they’re shut down.

For a bettor, the two relevant markets are to advance and the head-to-head when these sides meet, with the 48-team format’s eight best third-placed qualifiers again softening the stakes — the loser of the second-place race may still squeak through on points and goal difference. New Zealand’s role in all this is as the swing factor: how many goals they concede, and to whom, could decide the goal-difference tiebreaks that separate Egypt and Iran. We’re describing the market, not telling you how to play it — but in Group G, the second-place market is the one with the real questions.

Storylines to watch

Whether Belgium’s golden generation can sign off with a deep run, whether Salah can finally drag Egypt out of a group, whether Iran can spoil it, and whether New Zealand can nick a result in front of a Vancouver crowd. For where to bet legally in Ontario, see our best Ontario sportsbooks for the World Cup, and for Canada’s group, the Group B preview.

Bet responsibly

Star-studded matches on home soil are exactly when it’s easiest to bet more than you intended. Set a budget before kickoff and keep it entertainment.

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