Elijah Just scores late as Belgium routs New Zealand 5-1

Elijah Just’s 84th-minute finish gave New Zealand a brief lift, but Belgium’s 5-1 win at BC Place in Vancouver never really stopped looking like a mismatch. The late goal cut the deficit after Belgium had already pulled away to a 3-0 lead, and the response from Romelu Lukaku and Alexis Saelemaekers quickly restored the gap.

Belgium controlled the match from the start and finished first in Group G with five points, enough to move into the Round of 32. New Zealand left the tournament with one point and a record that reflected the size of the task it faced against top-tier opposition. The numbers told the story as clearly as the scoreline: Belgium had 35 shots to New Zealand’s six and put 10 on target to New Zealand’s two.

Leandro Trossard opened the scoring in the 28th minute and doubled Belgium’s lead in the 50th, giving New Zealand little room to build any momentum. Kevin De Bruyne added a third in the 66th minute, and the match seemed settled long before Just arrived at the edge of the box after a New Zealand corner was cleared. He struck first time to score New Zealand’s first goal of the game, a clean finish that avoided a shutout but did not alter the overall shape of the contest.

Belgium answered almost immediately. Lukaku scored in the 86th minute, and Saelemaekers added another in stoppage time, sealing a result that emphasized the gap between the sides more than any moment of resistance. New Zealand’s goal mattered as a moment of individual execution, but Belgium’s ability to absorb the set piece, reset and finish the game with two more goals suggested the contest remained out of reach even after Just scored.

For New Zealand, the late strike offered a glimpse of composure in a difficult stretch, yet it read more as damage control than proof of genuine competitiveness. Belgium had already dictated the game’s tempo, volume and finishing before Just’s shot gave the scoreline a more respectable look.