All Whites land Belgium, Egypt, Iran in Group G for 2026 Fifa World Cup
Saturday, 6 December 2025
It’s not like Darren Bazeley was doing cartwheels, but the All Whites coach definitely cut an upbeat figure, after his side learned their fate in a Fifa World Cup draw he noted “could have been worse”.
At a glitzy, drawn-out affair staged at the Kennedy Center in a snowy Washington DC on Saturday (NZ time), the wait for the seven-strong Kiwi delegation went right till the end, New Zealand ending up the very last team to be drawn, landing in Group G, alongside Belgium, Egypt and Iran, for next year’s tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
In what will be the first event involving 48 teams, with it a whopping 50% increase on the past seven tournaments dating back to 1998, and with Oceania granted direct entry for the first time, the All Whites will make their third appearance at the global showpiece, and chase an historic first victory, after three losses in 1982 in Spain and three draws in 2010 in South Africa.
New Zealand, at world No 86, are the lowest-ranked team to have qualified so far (there are six more teams to be decided in March), with Belgium sitting at No 8, Iran No 20 and Egypt No 34.
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“We knew whatever the group was going to be, it was going to be tough, they’re all very good teams,” Bazeley told Kiwi media soon after a ceremony that had seen the country’s name drawn by ice hockey legend Wayne Gretzky, who was one of four former sporting superstars on draw duty along with Tom Brady (american football), Aaron Judge (baseball) and Shaquille O'Neal (basketball).
“When you look across at some of the other groups, potentially it could have been a bit worse, could have been a bit tougher. That’s not to say this is an easy group, but there’s teams that we know that we can compete with if we are at our best on the day.
“I think it’s an exciting group, and one we’re not scared of, and we’ll prepare properly for.”
With teams split into four pots via world rankings, Belgium were ranked ahead of only Germany, the United States (14), Mexico (15) and Canada (27) in a pot one where the latter trio had been elevated to due to their co-hosting status.
Heading into the fourth and final pot, the possibilities were intriguing for the All Whites, as marquee matchups with Lionel Messi’s Argentina, Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal, or Harry Kane’s England, became distinct, spine-tingling possibilities.
While at that point getting a favourable group with Mexico or the United States was no longer a chance due to the constraint of the groups having to have at least one European team, New Zealand also, though, sidestepped the big threat of heavyweights and reigning runners-up France, who were grouped with danger pot-three outfit Norway and their gun striker Erling Haaland.
That was because that Group I had to include the inter-confederation playoff winner out of Iraq, Bolivia or Suriname, due to how the remaining groups were shaping, and the requirement for there to be no more than one team from Africa, Asia, North and Central America, and South America in each.
Venues and kickoff times for the tournament will be announced on Sunday (NZT), but the All Whites already now have a very clear idea of how things will play out, in what will be a West Coast-based event for them.
It will be Iran first-up, on June 16 (NZT) in Los Angeles or Seattle, then Egypt on June 22 (NZT) in Los Angeles or Vancouver, before a big battle with Belgium on June 27 (NZT) in Seattle or Vancouver.
Like Belgium in pot one, Iran were the eighth-ranked of the 12 teams in pot two. They have never been past the group stage at a World Cup and the All Whites have faced them twice before, in a 0-0 draw in Auckland in 1973 and a 3-0 loss in Tehran in 2003.
Egypt, meanwhile, with their star forward Mohamed Salah ‒ the country’s top goal-scorer, though who now finds himself on the Liverpool sidelines ‒ were the third-highest-ranked side in pot three, and are going into their fourth World Cup, having not qualified for the last one in Qatar in 2022.
The All Whites have faced them three times previously, in Mexico prior to the Confederations Cup in 1999 for a 1-1 draw and a 1-0 loss, before a defeat by the same scoreline in Cairo last year.
Then it will be Belgium, who were ousted in the group stage four years ago, after placing a best-ever third in 2018 in Russia. They will boast names such as striker Romelu Lukaku and midfielder Kevin De Bruyne, both centurions and leading goal-scorers for their nation, the latter having this year joined the former at Italian club Napoli from Manchester City, where fellow Belgian national star Jérémy Doku remains.
With not only the top two teams from each pool progressing to the knockout stage, but also the eight-best third-placed sides, thanks to the newly-introduced round of 32 at the expanded tournament, the All Whites will believe.
“We’ve proved, in a lot of the games we’ve played, we’ve had moments where we can compete,” Bazeley said.
“What we need to do is put that together in a 90-minute performance and be a bit more ruthless with our final ball and our finishing, defend like we have done recently, with a lot of steel and determination.
“We just need everybody performing at their top level. I suppose every country could say that as well.”
2026 Fifa World Cup groups
Group A: Mexico, South Africa, South Korea, Uefa Path D winner (Czech Republic, Ireland, Denmark, North Macedonia)
Group B: Canada, Uefa Path A winner (Wales, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Italy, Northern Ireland), Qatar, Switzerland
Group C: Brazil, Morocco, Scotland, Haiti
Group D: United States, Paraguay, Australia, Uefa Path C winner (Slovakia, Kosovo, Turkey, Romania)
Group E: Germany, Curaçao, Ivory Coast, Ecuador
Group F: Netherlands, Japan, Uefa Path B winner (Ukraine, Sweden, Poland, Albania), Tunisia
Group G: Belgium, Egypt, Iran, New Zealand
Group H: Spain, Cape Verde, Saudi Arabia, Uruguay
Group I: France, Senegal, IC Path 2 winner (Bolivia v Suriname winner plays Iraq), Norway
Group J: Argentina, Algeria, Austria, Jordan
Group K: Portugal, IC Path 1 winner (New Caledonia v Jamaica winner plays DR Congo), Uzbekistan, Colombia
Group L: England, Croatia, Ghana, Panama