Soccer-Belgium ring changes as Lukaku benched; New Zealand make two switches for Group G World Cup clash


Soccer Football - FIFA World Cup 2026 - Group G - New Zealand v Belgium - BC Place, Vancouver, Canada - June 26, 2026 New Zealand's Francis de Vries during the warm up before the match REUTERS/Albert Gea

VANCOUVER, June 26 (Reuters) - Belgium coach Rudi Garcia ⁠made wholesale changes for Friday's crucial Group ‌G World Cup clash against New Zealand, with five alterations to the side that drew 0-0 with Iran.

• Striker Romelu ​Lukaku, still searching for his ⁠first goal of the ⁠tournament, has been dropped to the bench.

• Winger ⁠Jeremy Doku ‌returns to the starting lineup after recovering from illness and a brief ⁠absence following the birth of his son.

• ​Garcia has ‌also left out Thomas Meunier, Nicolas Raskin and ⁠Alexis Saelemaekers ​from the starting lineup, while Nathan Ngoy is suspended following his red card against Iran.

• New Zealand ⁠coach Darren Bazeley has made ​two changes after the 3-1 defeat by Egypt.

• Michael Boxall and Callum McCowatt have been dropped as ⁠Bazeley reshuffled his side.

Lineups:

New Zealand - Max Crocombe; Tim Payne, Tyler Bindon, Liberato Cacace, Finn Surman; Joe Bell, Marko Stamenic, Sarpreet Singh, Elijah Just, Ryan ​Thomas; Chris Wood.

Belgium - Thibaut Courtois; ⁠Arthur Theate, Brandon Mechele, Maxim De Cuyper, Timothy ​Castagne; Kevin De Bruyne, Youri ‌Tielemans, Hans Vanaken; Leandro Trossard, ​Jeremy Doku, Charles De Ketelaere.

(Reporting by Pearl Josephine Nazare in VancouverEditing by Toby Davis)

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