We are just days away from the biggest sporting extravaganza in the world, as the FIFA World Cup 2026 will kick off on Thursday, June 11 (June 12 IST). The competition will be hosted by the United States of America, Canada, and Mexico and will be the biggest edition of the tournament yet, with 48 teams participating.
These 48 teams, several of them having qualified for the World Cup for the first time, have been divided into 12 groups of four teams each.
Each side will go up against the other in a group once. After each team has played their three games, the nations that finish in the top two in their group will qualify for the Round of 32. But that just gives us 24 teams, leaving eight more qualification spots. And so, the eight best-performing third-placed sides will also make it to the knockout rounds.
World Cup Group G Predictions
Today, we will predict how Group G of the FIFA World Cup 2026 will shape up at the end of the group stage. This might be the tightest group in the competition, with Belgium, Egypt, Iran, and New Zealand being in it.
Belgium are on the wrong end of a golden generation. The central European nation was the highest-ranked men’s national team for a big part of the 2010s. But now, all their star players from that team are either retired or nearly so. They qualified for the FIFA World Cup 2026 by topping their UEFA qualification group over the likes of Wales and North Macedonia
Egypt has been one of the strongest African teams this century. Their World Cup qualification, by all accounts, was a walk in the park. They were in an easy group in the first round of CAF qualifiers, which they won comfortably to book their tickets to North America.
There was much talk around Iran and its inclusion in this World Cup. Sadly, much of that talk was not related to football, but the nation’s recent war against the tournament hosts, the USA. Even so, they did qualify for the competition. They first topped their second round group in the AFC qualifiers. Then, in the third round, they topped their group again, this time over teams like Uzbekistan and Qatar, to qualify.
Lastly, New Zealand has qualified for the FIFA World Cup for the third time in history. In the process, they have become the first team to get the OFC automatic qualification spot. In the OFC qualifiers, the Kiwis first won their second round group convincingly, before winning the third-round playoff to make it to the World Cup
Now, let’s see who will make it to the Round of 32 from Group G –
Group G has one team that looks stronger than the rest. But this group also has the potential to give us one of those famous World Cup upsets.
Belgium, despite their troubles in recent international competitions, is still one of the best football teams in the World. After qualifying for the FIFA World Cup 2026, they have been in solid form. From defeating the United States 5-2, to beating Croatia 2-0, and thrashing Tunisia 5-0, this team comes into this tournament in fine form.
The Belgians will be captained in this World Cup by veteran midfielder Youri Tielemans and managed by Frenchman Rudi Garcia. Despite much of their golden generation being on the wrong side of 30, this team still has a healthy mix of youth and experience. Some of the players that are expected to do well from this team are Manchester City legend Kevin de Bruyne, current City striker Jeremy Doku, Leandro Trossard of Arsenal, and arguably the best goalkeeper in the world, Thibaut Courtois.
The Egyptians come into this World Cup in decent form. Earlier this year, they made their way to the semi-final of the Africa Cup of Nations, where they lost 1-0 to Senegal. Since then, they have had three positive results in a row. A 1-0 win over Russia, a 4-0 drubbing of Saudi Arabia, and a 0-0 draw against European champions Spain.
Egypt will be captained in the FIFA World Cup 2026 by their talisman, and arguably the greatest footballer in the history of the nation, Mohamed Salah, and managed by Hossam Hassan. Some of the players looking to make a statement in this competition are Omar Marmoush of Manchester City, and pacy winger Ibrahim Adel of Nordsjaelland
The Iranian national team, since qualifying for the World Cup last year, has been in a roller coaster form. They were beaten 2-1 by Russia, 2-1 by Nigeria, and on penalties by Uzbekistan in friendlies. But they have also defeated Cabo Verde, dominated Gambia, and thrashed Costa Rica in recent months as well.
Iran will be captained in this World Cup by former Inter Milan striker Mehdi Taremi and managed by Amir Ghalenoei. Midfielder Saman Ghoddos, forward Amirhossein Hosseinzadeh, and veteran goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand will look to make a statement in the FIFA World Cup 2026.
Finally, New Zealand. This team has been beaten black and blue over the last year in friendlies. From a 1-0 defeat to Poland, to a 3-1 loss to Australia. A 2-1 loss to Colombia was followed by a 2-0 beating by Ecuador. More recently, they have lost 1-0 to England and 4-0 to Haiti.
The All Whites will be led to this tournament by Premier League veteran Chris Wood, who is an old-school striker, and managed by Darren Bazeley. Fans will be excited to watch defender Tim Payne in this World Cup, mostly because he went viral on social media over the last month, gaining over one million Instagram followers. Other players to watch out for will be defensive winger Liberato Cacace and goalkeeper Alex Paulsen
World Cup Group G Predictions –
- Belgium vs Egypt: draw
- Iran vs New Zealand: Iran wins
- Belgium vs Iran: Belgium wins
- New Zealand vs Egypt: draw
- New Zealand vs Belgium: Belgium wins
- Egypt vs Iran: Egypt wins
Group ranking –
| Rank | Nation | Points |
| 1 | Belgium | 7 |
| 2 | Egypt | 5 |
| 3 | Iran | 4 |
| 4 | New Zealand | 1 |
Check Out: World Cup Group G Predictions
Get the FIFA World Cup 2026 Updates at IceCric.News. Also, Follow Our Social Media for live updates on Facebook and Instagram.
