MUNDIAL·26

First Stage · Group G · Sunday, June 21 · Los Angeles Stadium, Los Angeles · 70,317 in the stands

kickoff 12:00 local · 21°C · 69% humidity · roofed stadium

Belgium

0:0

IR Iran

tap a player for their match file

Belgium4-2-3-1
IR Iran5-4-1
Thibaut COURTOIS7.3Brandon MECHELE7.1Maxim DE CUYPER7.8Thomas MEUNIER6.7Nathan NGOY5.6Kevin DE BRUYNE7.1Youri TIELEMANS7.5Alexis SAELEMAEKERS6.5Nicolas RASKIN6.4Romelu LUKAKU6.1Leandro TROSSARD7.5Alireza BEIRANVAND8.2Saleh HARDANI6.6Ehsan HAJISAFI6.6Shoja KHALILZADEH8.0Hossein KANANI8.3Ali NEMATI6.6Ramin REZAEIAN6.9Saeid EZATOLAHI7.1Mohammad MOHEBBI6.6Saman GHODDOS6.7Mehdi TAREMI5.8
from the bench

match pulse — xG per 5 minutes · goals · cards

45′90′BELIRN

goals — hover the strip for every shot and card, with names

  • quiet five minutes — nothing on record
BEL 0:0 IRN0'kickoff
8' De Bruyne — xG 0.03 · Missed9' De Bruyne — xG 0.10 · Missed9' de Cuyper — xG 0.13 · Saved10' Lukaku — xG 0.03 · Blocked14' Kanani — xG 0.15 · Saved15' Ezatolahi — xG 0.10 · Missed19' Trossard — xG 0.06 · Blocked22' Tielemans — xG 0.04 · Saved23' Ngoy — xG 0.05 · Missed42' De Bruyne — xG 0.13 · Saved44' de Cuyper — xG 0.17 · Saved44' Saelemaekers — xG 0.05 · Blocked46' Jahanbakhsh — xG 0.08 · Missed46' De Bruyne — xG 0.03 · Blocked45 + 3' De Bruyne — xG 0.03 · Blocked50' Saelemaekers — xG 0.03 · Missed51' de Cuyper — xG 0.06 · Blocked53' Taremi — xG 0.18 · Saved59' de Cuyper — xG 0.35 · Saved62' Lukébakio — xG 0.02 · Saved62' Vanaken — xG 0.08 · Missed65' Khalilzadeh — xG 0.02 · Missed81' Ezatolahi — xG 0.04 · Saved84' Tielemans — xG 0.03 · Missed84' Vanaken — xG 0.07 · Missed86' de Cuyper — xG 0.19 · Saved88' Amir h — xG 0.05 · Blocked90 + 3' Mechele — xG 0.07 · Missed90 + 4' Fernandez-Pardo — xG 0.04 · Missed90 + 5' Lukébakio — xG 0.02 · Missed

▶ Watch every shot in 3D⟲ Replay the match

The xG race — cumulative expected goals, minute by minute

BEL 0:0 IRN
1.00′15′30′45′60′75′90′1.810.62

On paper vs as played — formation sheet vs heatmap reality

BEL 4-2-3-1 attack →, ← IRN 5-4-1 attack. The teamsheet, as announced.

1Thibaut COURTOISThibaut COURTOIS4Brandon MECHELEBrandon MECHELE5Maxim DE CUYPERMaxim DE CUYPER15Thomas MEUNIERThomas MEUNIER25Nathan NGOYNathan NGOY7Kevin DE BRUYNEKevin DE BRUYNE8Youri TIELEMANSYouri TIELEMANS22Alexis SAELEMAEKERSAlexis SAELEMAEKERS23Nicolas RASKINNicolas RASKIN9Romelu LUKAKURomelu LUKAKU10Leandro TROSSARDLeandro TROSSARD1Alireza BEIRANVANDAlireza BEIRANVAND2Saleh HARDANISaleh HARDANI3Ehsan HAJISAFIEhsan HAJISAFI4Shoja KHALILZADEHShoja KHALILZADEH13Hossein KANANIHossein KANANI19Ali NEMATIAli NEMATI23Ramin REZAEIANRamin REZAEIAN6Saeid EZATOLAHISaeid EZATOLAHI8Mohammad MOHEBBIMohammad MOHEBBI14Saman GHODDOSSaman GHODDOS9Mehdi TAREMIMehdi TAREMI

The duel — team data, FIFA tracking included

59%
Possession
30%
1.48
Expected goals
0.48
77
Threat
23
23
Shots
7
7
On target
3
562
Passes completed
201
45
Forced turnovers
43
10.5s
Ball recovery time
18.5s
3.99
High-press phases
2.74
8
Fouls committed
5
3
Offsides
4
112 km
Distance covered
113 km
34.4 km/h
Top speed
32.9 km/h

Territory — where each team lived

Every player's heatmap, minutes-weighted and stacked per team. Belgium attack →, ← IR Iran attack. Brighter is more presence; where the colors meet is the contested ground.

How it happened

  1. 3′Romelu LUKAKU (Belgium) is booked by the referee.
  2. 33′Saeid EZATOLAHI (IR Iran) is booked by the referee.
  3. ′Before the second half begins Alireza JAHANBAKHSH (in) comes off the bench to replace Saleh HARDANI (out) (IR Iran)
  4. 58′Timothy CASTAGNE (in) comes off the bench to replace Thomas MEUNIER (out) (Belgium)
  5. 58′Hans VANAKEN (in) comes off the bench to replace Nicolas RASKIN (out) (Belgium)
  6. 58′Dodi LUKEBAKIO (in) comes off the bench to replace Alexis SAELEMAEKERS (out) (Belgium)
  7. 66′Mehdi TORABI (in) comes off the bench to replace Mohammad MOHEBBI (out) (IR Iran)
  8. 66′Milad MOHAMMADI (in) comes off the bench to replace Ehsan HAJISAFI (out) (IR Iran)
  9. 66′Nathan NGOY (Belgium) is sent off!
  10. 73′Arthur THEATE (in) comes off the bench to replace Romelu LUKAKU (out) (Belgium)
  11. 79′Shahriyar MOGHANLOO (in) comes off the bench to replace Saman GHODDOS (out) (IR Iran)
  12. 85′Amirhossein HOSSEINZADEH (in) comes off the bench to replace Saeid EZATOLAHI (out) (IR Iran)
  13. 87′Matias FERNANDEZ-PARDO (in) comes off the bench to replace Kevin DE BRUYNE (out) (Belgium)

The morning-after column · AI-written from the match data

Belgium's Profligacy Spares Iran

Belgium dominated from the opening whistle: 59 per cent possession, 23 shots to Iran's seven, a 4-2-3-1 formation built for control against Iran's defensive 5-4-1. For 66 minutes they pressed and probed, with Tielemans at 7.5 rating conducting midfield traffic and De Cuyper at 7.8 providing width. Then came the turning point—Nathan Ngoy's red card at the hour mark. Down to ten men, Belgium's attacking blueprint unravelled precisely when they needed clinical execution most.

Three big chances squandered—0.35 xG at 59 minutes, 0.19 at 86, 0.17 earlier—left Belgium's expected goals at merely 1.48. Beiranvand (8.2) and Kanaani (8.3) anchored Iran's defensive resolve. Ngoy's 66th-minute red card shifted the match's trajectory irreversibly. Though Iran's press recovery averaged 18.5 seconds against Belgium's 10.5, they still recorded 43 forced turnovers, reflecting disciplined defending. Belgium's profligacy in front of goal, compounded by the dismissal, cost them victory.

Belgium's 1.48 expected goals on 59 per cent possession went unconverted; Nathan Ngoy's 66th-minute red card ended any chance of converting dominance into a victory.

66′

Nathan Ngoy's red card eliminates Belgium's numerical advantage and destroys their attacking blueprint

What Belgium needed

Dominance without discipline and clinical finishing amounts to nothing.

  • Missed three big chances yielding 0.35, 0.19, and 0.17 xG combined—profligacy before the red card
  • Ngoy's 66th-minute dismissal eliminated any path to convert superiority into three points
  • Pressed aggressively (4.0 phases) but recovered slowly at 10.5s—a gap Iran managed well

What IR Iran needed

Defensive discipline and goalkeeper heroics salvaged a point against relentless pressure.

  • 5-4-1 formation absorbed 23 shots with Beiranvand's 8.2 rating saving the 0.35 xG chance
  • 30 per cent possession yet 43 forced turnovers—recovery time of 18.5s proved reliable
  • Kanaani's 8.3 reading ensured defensive solidity throughout 90 minutes of Belgian onslaught