As World Cup 2026 groups go, Group G should be fairly easy to predict.
That’s because European heavyweights Belgium, who claimed third place in the tournament in 2018, are expected to finish top with a bit to spare.
The Belgian ‘golden generation’ may never have quite lived up to their full potential over the past decade – and those days are now gone – but they are still ranked the ninth best side in the world.
Yet it is who joins them in the new round of 32 that will make this group more compelling. In fact, I would argue it is anyone’s guess with Egypt, Iran and New Zealand out to make their own piece of history.
Putting Belgium to one side – and any team which possesses seasoned pros like Kevin De Bruyne, Thibaut Courtois, and Romelu Lukaku, alongside exciting young talents such as Matías Fernández-Pardo, deserve respect – it is the matches between the other nations which fascinate me.
Take Egypt for example. This is a chance for the Pharaohs to reach the knockout stages for the first time in their history.
The official records show they reached the last 16 at the 1934 World Cup (when they were officially classed as 13th) but the format of that competition meant they actually only played one game, a 4-2 loss to Hungary.
To get out of the group stage for the first time, they will also likely have to achieve another ‘first’ along the way.
For with two draws and five defeats, Egypt has never won a match in the World Cup finals. Now would be the ideal time to put that right.
Coach Hossam Hassan insists his squad has the quality and mentality to surpass past performances and deliver a stronger global showing. The players’ hunger is led by outgoing Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah, the undoubted talisman of the Pharaohs for many years, who netted nine of their 20 goals in qualifying.
In addition, Manchester City’s Omar Marmoush should also give the nation confidence they can aim higher and establish a new benchmark for Egyptian football on the world stage.
Such an achievement would be the perfect answer to the detractors, albeit small in number, who criticised manager Hossam Hassan during the Africa Cup of Nations at the start of the year. Following their semi-final exit, he was challenged by journalists about what they called the team’s technical shortcomings, prompting an angry reaction.
Our SBOTOP World Cup 2026 betting odds may have Egypt priced @ 601.00 to win the tournament but that is ahead of the New Zealanders.
This is the first time that Oceania Football Confederation has received a direct qualification berth and the All Whites secured that ticket by beating Fiji and New Caledonia in the final round of qualifiers.
Indeed, New Zealand are the only Oceania representatives at World Cup 2026.
They are playing in the World Cup for the third time after qualifying in 1982 and 2010 and, like Egypt, they have yet to win a match.
Their goal threat is also led by another Premier League man, with Nottingham Forest striker Chris Wood their captain and best-known player, even if a football influencer on social media has successfully staked the case for the previously little-known defender Tim Payne this week!
The trio of underdog nations looking to make history is completed by Iran, who are also aiming to qualify for the knockout rounds of the World Cup for the first time, although they have defeated USA, Morocco and Wales in past tournaments.
Sadly, at a time when all the focus should be on sides delivering World Cup 2026 highlights, Group G could be brought into the headlines for very different reasons.
Because Iran’s place has had a question mark against it for many months in the build-up.
The ongoing war in the Middle East and related security concerns have led to such uncertainty around their participation that they are currently preparing for the tournament in southern Turkey.
Only this week, Mexico president Claudia Sheinbaum agreed to allow Iran to be based in the country during the World Cup.
Sheinbaum said her government had been approached by FIFA after the US made it clear it did not want Iran’s squad to stay in the country during the tournament.
On the football front, the big news is the omission of experienced forward Sardar Azmoun.
He was reportedly expelled from the national team for a perceived act of disloyalty to the government amid the US-Israel war on Iran.
From a football perspective – and let’s face it, that is what this should all be about – he will be a loss as he has scored 57 goals in his 91 appearances for his country.
It means Iran’s forward line will be led by Mehdi Taremi, a talented frontman who plies his trade at Olympiacos in Greece.
If the football is allowed to do the talking, who progresses alongside Belgium from Group G could well come down to a straight shoot-out between Salah, Marmoush, Wood and Taremi.
Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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