Belgium vs Iran

Belgium faces Iran at SoFi Stadium (70,240 capacity) in Los Angeles on June 21, 2026, with kickoff at 12:00 PM PDT (UTC-7) in Group G of the FIFA World Cup 2026.

Belgium’s golden generation is over. The squad built around Kevin De Bruyne, Romelu Lukaku, Eden Hazard, and Thibaut Courtois finished third in 2018 and exited in the group stage in 2022. What they produced together across a decade was enough individual quality to win a World Cup. What they produced as a team was a bronze medal in Russia and an early flight home from Qatar. The 2026 squad is the post-golden-generation Belgium: a newer roster building its own identity without the shadow of an exceptional era to hide under.

Iran’s 2022 campaign in Qatar delivered the result that best defines them: a 2-0 win over Wales, with two stoppage-time goals, the second scored by Roozbeh Cheshmi with what became one of the tournament’s most celebrated strikes. Iran had lost their opener to England 6-2, a result that seemed to settle the group. Then they beat Wales. Then they were eliminated after a draw with United States. The range in that campaign, from 6-2 defeat to controlled counter-attacking win, illustrates exactly why Iran are not a predictable opponent.

When is this match? Noon PDT in Los Angeles means 8:00 PM BST in London and 9:00 PM CEST in Brussels. Greater Los Angeles has one of the world’s largest Iranian diaspora populations, estimated at over 600,000 in the county alone. At SoFi Stadium, the noise for Iran will be local as much as international. Tehrangeles, as the community is known, watches the national team with the intensity of a home crowd thousands of miles from Tehran.

Belgium’s golden generation won nothing. Iran beat Wales in Doha in stoppage time. Neither team arrives in Los Angeles with the luxury of underestimating the other.

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