Belgium 0-0 Iran player ratings: Perfect 10 awarded as Romelu Lukaku wastes chance

Group G of the 2026 World Cup still awaits its first winner and loser following Belgium and Iran's goalless draw at the SoFi Stadium on Sunday evening.

Rudi Garcia's men were unsurprisingly the dominant side against their Persian counterparts, but the Red Devils lacked a ruthless edge throughout and also ran into an inspired Iran goalkeeper.

Belgium also lost defender Nathan Ngoy to a second-half red card, and they will be bumped down to third place in the rankings no matter what transpires in New Zealand vs. Egypt.

Here, Sports Mole provides player ratings from Belgium and Iran's 0-0 draw.

Belgium player ratings vs. Iran: Romelu Lukaku starting decision unjustified

© Iconsport / Belga

GOALKEEPER

Thibaut Courtois - 8/10

Nowhere near as busy as his goalkeeping counterpart, but was as reliable and as sharp as ever when he was called upon.

DEFENCE

Thomas Meunier - 6/10

His most notable contribution was being booked for taking too long over a throw-in.

Nathan Ngoy - 4/10

A largely faultless display for 65 minutes, before a catastrophic error and stonewall sending-off.

Brandon Mechele - 6/10

Always in the right place at the right time defensively, but sent a promising header over the top late on.

Maxim De Cuyper - 6/10

Will be having nightmares about Iran's goalkeeper for weeks to come. Four shots on target, all four kept out - partly due to terrific shot-stopping and partly due to his inability to pick out the corners.

MIDFIELD

Nicolas Raskin - 6/10

Did little wrong with the ball at his feet and kept things ticking over in midfield, but lacking in inspiration until his withdrawal.

Youri Tielemans - 6/10

Copy and paste.

Kevin De Bruyne - 6/10

Huffed and puffed on the creativity front despite being frequently fouled, but nothing was sticking. Delivered cross after cross to no avail, and almost gave away a goal to Saeid Ezatolahi; thankfully Courtois was there to bail him out.

ATTACK

Alexis Saelemaekers - 6/10

A livewire on the right-hand side, but without the end product to match.

Leandro Trossard - 7/10

Easily Belgium's most dangerous attacking force and created five chances for Kevin De Bruyne alone, but rarely got himself into scoring positions.

Romelu Lukaku - 4/10

Sacrificed for an extra defender after Ngoy's red card, but failed to justify his promotion to the first XI beforehand. More yellow cards than shots on target and ground duels won combined.

SUBSTITUTES

Timothy Castagne - 7/10

Injected some danger on the right-hand side during the final 30 minutes - unfortunate not to claim a game-winning assist.

Hans Vanaken - 5/10

Couple of shots missed the mark.

Dodi Lukebakio - 6/10

So nearly stole all three points with a brilliant curling strike at the end.

Arthur Theate - 6/10

Ran about a bit but little else to report on.

Matias Fernandez-Pardo - 6/10

Some nice touches after coming on, but blazed a promising chance high and wide at the death.

Iran player ratings vs. Belgium: Astounding Alireza Beiranvand

© Iconsport / Bildbyran

GOALKEEPER

Alireza Beiranvand - 10/10

It may not have been a 15-save Eloy Room performance, but Alireza Beiranvand's display was equally impeccable.

Brave, commanding and exhibiting the most rapid reflexes, Beiranvand's seven saves prevented 1.7 goals and made him the latest World Cup shot-stopping superstar.

DEFENCE

Saleh Hardani - 5/10

Shoja Khalilzadeh - 9/10

As exceptional as Beiranvand was, Khalilzadeh played a pivotal role in front of his number one, registering an astronomical 22 defensive contributions to keep Belgium at bay.

Hossein Kanaani - 7/10

Always in the right place at the right time to snuff out danger and managed to test Courtois with a fine strike too.

Ali Nemati - 7/10

Ehsan Hajsafi - 6/10

Incredibly quick thinking to slip in Mehdi Taremi from a quick free kick, only for the offside flag to deny him a brilliant assist. Was otherwise largely anonymous.

MIDFIELD

Ramin Rezaeian - 6/10

Saman Ghoddos - 6/10

Saeid Ezatolahi - 6/10

Robbed De Bruyne of possession and let fly with a decent long-range shot, but Courtois was equal to it.

Mohammad Mohebi - 5/10

ATTACK

Mehdi Taremi - 6/10

A smart turn and finish from Hajsafi's free kick, even if he had gone a whisker too early. Was alert to Ngoy's mistake and forced the red card-worthy challenge from the centre-back.

SUBSTITUTES

Alireza Jahanbakhsh - 6/10

Sent a promising shot wide immediately after coming on.

Milad Mohammadi - 6/10

Mahdi Torabi - 6/10

Shahriar Moghanlou - 6/10

Amirhossein Hosseinzadeh - N/A