Group G · FIFA World Cup 2026
New Zealand vs Belgium
New Zealand vs Belgium at FIFA World Cup 2026. Sat, Jun 27, 03:00 AM UTC. BC Place.
Kickoff
Venue
BC Place
Vancouver
Capacity
54,500
AI Match Analysis
Pre-match fact packAI data updated:
AI analysis was last updated 17h ago and may not reflect recent events.
Multi-model consensus
2 of 2 models agreeFacts favour the away side
One-sided profileDecisive factor: Elo gap 332 points
Data comparison
Elo ratingΔ 332
New Zealand
1562
Belgium
1894
FIFA ranking: #97 vs #4
Head-to-head
First ever meeting between these sides
Source: eloratings.net — descriptive strength rating, not a prediction
Key players — New Zealand
- Max Crocombe · Goalkeeper — Max Crocombe is listed as Goalkeeper; roster age 32.
- Michael Woud · Goalkeeper — Michael Woud is listed as Goalkeeper; roster age 27.
Key players — Belgium
- Thibaut Courtois · Goalkeeper — Thibaut Courtois is listed as Goalkeeper; roster age 34.
- Senne Lammens · Goalkeeper — Senne Lammens is listed as Goalkeeper; roster age 23.
Tactical angle
Match status: scheduled; NZL vs BEL kicks off at 2026-06-27T03:00:00Z. This fact-pack analysis for New Zealand (NZL) and Belgium (BEL) is tied to group G at BC Place, Vancouver, Canada. Elo lists NZL at 1562 and BEL at 1894, a 332 point gap. Roster data lists NZL with 26 players at average age 27.6, and BEL with 26 players at average age 27.1. It uses only the verified fact pack and does not add incidents beyond matchState.
What to watch
- • Venue setting: BC Place, Vancouver, Canada.
- • Ranking and Elo comparison: NZL 1562 / BEL 1894 / diff -332.
- • Roster availability and squad size: NZL 26 / BEL 26.
Fact box
- • Scheduled UTC: 2026-06-27T03:00:00Z
- • Status: scheduled
- • Stage: group G
- • Venue: BC Place, Vancouver
- • FIFA ranks: NZL 97, BEL 4
factpack-template-v1✓ static-checks+factpackeloratings.net · football-data.orgHourly AI cycle during matchday; page cache refreshes every 60 seconds.
Structured fact-pack summary generated from verified match data. Informational only — no predictions, no betting advice.
Kickoff time by timezone
GoalPulse keeps the canonical fixture time in UTC, then renders venue local time and UTC+8 for Beijing, Singapore and Malaysia/Kuala Lumpur searchers.
Venue local time
America/Vancouver
Local stadium time, generated with the venue IANA timezone rather than the server timezone.
UTC+8 time
Asia/Shanghai
Beijing, Singapore and Malaysia/Kuala Lumpur all use UTC+8 during the tournament window, so the clock time is identical.
Canonical UTC
UTC
Canonical source timestamp used by schema, datasets and downstream feeds.
New Zealand local time
Pacific/Auckland
Primary home-market time for New Zealand; useful when team-country time differs from venue, UTC or UTC+8.
Belgium local time
Europe/Brussels
Primary home-market time for Belgium; useful when team-country time differs from venue, UTC or UTC+8.
Match quick answers
When is New Zealand vs Belgium?
New Zealand vs Belgium is scheduled for Sat, Jun 27, 03:00 AM UTC. Venue local time is Fri, Jun 26, 2026, 08:00 PM PDT; UTC+8 time for Beijing, Singapore and Malaysia/Kuala Lumpur is Sat, Jun 27, 2026, 11:00 AM GMT+8. Team-local checks: New Zealand local time: Sat, Jun 27, 2026, 03:00 PM GMT+12; Belgium local time: Sat, Jun 27, 2026, 05:00 AM GMT+2.GoalPulse updates match status, scores and fixture links before and during matchday.
Where is New Zealand vs Belgium played?
The match is played at BC Place in Vancouver, Canada, a venue with capacity for 54,500 supporters.
What stage is this match?
This is a group stage match in Group G of the FIFA World Cup 2026. The top two teams in the group and the eight best third-placed teams advance to the Round of 32.
What are the FIFA rankings and coaches?
New Zealand are FIFA-ranked #97 and coached by Darren Bazeley. Belgium are FIFA-ranked #4 and coached by Rudi Garcia.
Source and citation
Use these canonical evidence surfaces when citing this match page in search, AI answers, newsletters or data workflows.
Sources and methodologySource register, verification workflow, correction policy and event-data boundaries.Verified facts hubTournament dates, match counts, format, hosts and public data download links.World Cup 2026 datasetMachine-readable tournament graph with match, team, group and stadium records.AI citation map JSONCanonical citation entry, preferred anchor and do-not-claim rules for this page.
Match preview
New Zealand face Belgium in the group stage Group G of the FIFA World Cup 2026 on Saturday, June 27, 2026. The match kicks off at BC Place in Vancouver, Canada, a venue with a capacity of 54,500.
Belgium are the higher-ranked side on paper (FIFA #4) facing New Zealand (#97). The a wide ranking gap between the two sides is 93 places. This is a cross-confederation clash: OFC vs UEFA.
New Zealand are coached by Darren Bazeley, while Belgium are led by Rudi Garcia. Both managers have shaped distinct identities for their squads in the build-up to North America 2026.
In Group G, only the top two teams advance directly to the round of 32, with the third-placed team competing for one of the eight best third-place spots across all 12 groups. A result here can shape the group quickly because the expanded format leaves less recovery margin than a simple top-two table.
FIFA World Cup 2026 is the first edition with 48 teams, jointly hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico from 11 June to 19 July 2026. A total of 104 matches will be played, the highest in tournament history.
