Belgium
It was a somewhat lacklustre start to the 2026 World Cup for Belgium in Seattle were they struggled to pick up a point in a 1-1 draw with Egypt. They will be hoping for a better performance on Sunday when they play Iran in Los Angeles in Group G
Coach Rudi Garcia would expect his side to be much better this week and that is backed up by the stats, Belgium sit well above Iran in the FIFA World Rankings and were in great form before the Tournament began scoring 20 goals.
Injuries & Team News
Garcia has plenty to worry about ahead of the Iran game with reports suggesting Jermy Doku could miss the game with a respiratory issue and he has further enraged the Belgian FA by suggesting he could leave the tournament to attend the birth of his child.
Lille attacker Mattias- Fernandez Pardo could come in to replace Doku, unless Garcia decides to start Lukaku, which would move Charles de Kaetelaere out wide to accomodate Belgium’s record scorer.
The Aston Villa midfield pairing of Youri Tielemans and Amadou Onana were certainly not at there best against Egypt and Onana was hooked early in the second half although he is expected to keep his place and make amends on Sunday.
With Doku out the attacking trio could feature Kevin de Bruyne, Charles de Kaetalaere and Lukaku, don’t however expect him to play the full 90 minutes.
Form
| Last Match | Last 6 Matches |
|---|---|
| 1-1 vs Egypt | W W D W W D |
Predicted Line-Up
Belgium (4-2-3-1)
Courtois; Meunier, Ngoy, Mechele, Castagne; Onana, Tielemans; Trossard, De Bruyne,; De Ketelaere; Lukaku
Iran
Much of the build up to the World Cup for Iran featured problems off the field so they will have been delighted to get underway in their opening match where they played out an entertaining 2-2 draw with New Zealand in Group G.
Iran coach Amir Ghalenoei has a trusted 4-4-2 formation and his side are usually solid playing this way but looked vulnerable against “The All Whites” in Los Angeles.
They fell behind twice in that game to goals from Elijah Just but hit back twice, firstly through Ramin Rezaeian in the first half and then Mohammad Mohebi in the second half, they had chances to win the game late on but had to settle for a point.
This is a fifth appearance at the World Cup Finals for Iran and they have not yet made it past the opening stages, in-fact they have only won three of eighteen games they have played. Having picked up a point in the opener and an expanded knockout stage, they won’t have a better chance than now.
Injuries & Team News
Meanwhile, Iran have minor doubts about midfield pair Roozbeh Cheshmi and Saman Ghoddos, the latter of whom was forced off against New Zealand due to an ankle issue.
In that game, 36-year-old Rezaeian became the oldest player on record to both score and assist in one World Cup match, and he will continue to feature at right-back.
Up front, captain and star striker Mehdi Taremi aims to increase his haul of 60 international goals, most likely linking up with Shahriyar Moghanlou or Belgium-based Dennis Eckert.
Form
| Last Match | Last 6 Matches |
|---|---|
| 2-2 vs New Zealand | L L W W W D |
Predicted Line-Up
Iran (4-4-2):
Beiranvand; Rezaeian, Khalilzadeh, Nemati, Mohammadi; Mohebi, Ghoddos, Ezatolahi, Ghayedi; Moghanlou, Taremi.
Betting Odds
| Team | Odds | Bookmaker |
|---|---|---|
| Belgium Win | 1/2 (1.50) | Grand Ivy |
| Draw | 4/1 (5.00) | Dream Vegas |
| Iran Win | 8/1 (9.00) | 247Bet |
Prediction
Belgium 2-0 Iran
Belgium surely can not be as bad as they were against Egypt and Iran looked suspect defensively vs New Zealand. I expect The Red Devils to flex there muscles and claim a simple win.