Nathan Ngoy was sent off for bringing down Mehdi Taremi in a close Group G game after his first-half shot was ruled offside.
Published June 21, 2026
Belgium were held to a goalless draw with Iran, reducing the Red Devils to 10 men in a frustrating encounter that saw them face the possibility of being eliminated in the group stage for the second consecutive World Cup appearance.
An aging but star-studded line-up including Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku were lucky to leave Los Angeles with a point on Sunday.
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Belgium dominated the ball, but conceded the best chance of the game to Iran’s resolute defense.
Iran’s Mehdi Taremi found the back of the net with a superb first-half free-kick, but it was ruled out for offside by VAR, while Nathan Goi was sent off after the break for pulling down a striker with a botched backpass.
With this result, all three matches in Group G so far ended in draws. With only two points, Belgium can at least afford to play New Zealand, who are at the bottom of the competition, in their final group game.
Iran needs at least one point from next Friday’s match against Egypt. Team Melli, who have been frustrated by visa issues while traveling from their base camp in Mexico to play matches in the United States, are now hoping to focus on soccer as travel restrictions are reportedly eased ahead of a crucial trip to Seattle.
Ahead of the second game against Iran, protesters from Los Angeles’ large Iranian-American community gathered at the stadium to voice their opposition to the country’s current government.
When Iran’s national anthem was played inside the stadium, a chorus of boos and whistles erupted again, a reaction that was at odds with the reaction to the players who received loud cheers during the game.
Iran switched to a back-five and went deep in the first half, allowing Belgium to dominate the ball and make hundreds of passes around the penalty area without creating any clear-cut chances.
Target man Lukaku returned to the starting lineup after making an impact after coming off the bench in the 1-1 draw with Egypt, but his only header in the 36th minute went over the bar.
Iran had two of the best chances in the first half, completely against the flow of the game. Hossein Kanani’s low shot from a long throw was well saved by Thibaut Courtois, who put his body on the line.
Iran’s star striker Taremi took a deft free kick midway through the first half and found the back of the net, but it was ruled offside.
The former Inter Milan player spun the ball off the Belgian wall and buried it, but the attempt was ruled out by VAR, much to the dismay of a vocally pro-Iranian crowd.
Belgium’s attack continued after the break, while Taremi once again almost scored at the other end. Courtois made a good save after Kanani flicked a long throw towards the Iranian forward.
Belgium coach Rudi Garcia made three substitutions just after the hour mark, and his team quickly found themselves closing in on goal. De Bruyne’s cutback allowed Maxim de Kuiper to fire a shot from close range, but it was saved well.
Moments later, substitute Hans Vanaken took a rebound and fired a shot that went wide over the bar, and the Red Devils were finally knocking on Iran’s door in earnest.
However, disaster struck for Belgium and Ngoy was sent off. The centre-back badly underhit a pass to Courtois and raised his arm towards Taremi as the striker raced in front of goal.
The match was a tense stalemate, but De Kuiper came close to scoring again with a narrow shot from outside the penalty area.
