New Zealand 1-5 Belgium: Leandro Trossard emulates Eden Hazard in World Cup crushing

The third time was the charm for Belgium at the 2026 World Cup, where the Red Devils qualified for the last 32 in emphatic fashion with a 5-1 triumph over New Zealand in their Group G finale.

In a section where all fates were yet to be decided before the final matchday, Arsenal's Leandro Trossard came up clutch, scoring twice before Kevin De Bruyne, Romelu Lukaku and Alexis Saelemaekers added some late gloss to the scoreline.

The latter has hogged the Belgian spotlight for years, but tonight's Trossard masterclass signalled a passing of the torch.

New Zealand 1-5 Belgium: What just happened?

Languishing in third place in the Group G standings before the final round of matches, Belgium came out all guns blazing against a New Zealand side just one place and one point worse off.

Despite the marginal difference between the two teams in the rankings, the disparity in quality showed during the bottom-of-the-table battle, which Rudi Garcia's men dominated from the first whistle.

Trossard bounced back from having a penalty for handball overturned by striking first in the 28th minute, before doubling Belgium's advantage five minutes after the restart.

And there was time for the legendary De Bruyne and Lukaku to have their names read out on the loudspeaker too, but Trossard finally delivered the goals his World Cup displays have warranted.

New Zealand 1-5 Belgium: The big talking point

A brace for Leandro Trossard.

He chests down his own rebound and then lobs it home with his second attempt.

Belgium lead 2-0. pic.twitter.com/Y2lx19XaSl

— The Athletic | Football (@TheAthleticFC) June 27, 2026

While failing to come up with a direct goal involvement in Belgium's first two games against Egypt and Iran, it was not for a lack of trying from Trossard, whose authority slowly grew as the tournament went on.

The Arsenal winger created three chances against Egypt to no avail, before fashioning six against Iran, but the man who so often has a crucial goal in him for the Gunners let his shooting do the talking tonight.

Recently bestowed with the number 10 shirt that Eden Hazard donned for over a decade with Belgium, Trossard followed in the footsteps of the ex-Chelsea winger, who also scored twice at the World Cup with that iconic jersey against Tunisia in 2018.

New Zealand 1-5 Belgium: The bigger picture

With De Bruyne and Lukaku still going strong and excelling for their nation for years, Trossard has been forced to take a more peripheral role within the national team setup, at least in terms of status.

However, arguably Belgium's two greatest players ever are now in the twilight of their careers, and Lukaku was notably benched after a dismal display from the first whistle against Iran.

The 1994-born Trossard is not young for a footballer, but the wide man demonstrated his ability to come good when it matters most, an invaluable quality that Arsenal fans are all too aware of.

Fulham, Sunderland and West Ham United were all subjected to game-defining Trossard moments in the 2025-26 Premier League, and the 31-year-old may just prove to be Garcia's main man in the knockout rounds.