Belgium's Leandro Trossard adds to successful year with 2 goals in World Cup win over New Zealand

VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Leandro Trossard went from a World Cup substitute four years ago to a starter in this tournament — and his two goals against New Zealand on Friday night helped cement his legacy as one of Belgium’s best players of this era.

Trossard’s year has already been incredibly successful as he won the Premier League and reached the UEFA Champions League final with Arsenal, marking one of the best seasons in club history. He also scored one of the biggest goals of the season in a 1-0 victory over West Ham, the final win Arsenal needed for its first Premier League title since 2004.

His brace on Friday helped salvage a World Cup campaign for Belgium that began with two disappointing draws. He had the first two goals in a 5-1 win over New Zealand that sent the Red Devils to the knockout round as the Group G winner.

“I feel very good, I think we’re growing into the tournament, myself as well,” Trossard said. “We’re really happy to come first and go to the next round.”

Trossard, 31, first joined the Belgian national team in 2020, quickly becoming a key contributor in Belgium’s qualification campaign for the 2022 World Cup. He came on as a substitute for the Red Devils in all three of their 2022 World Cup matches.

Belgium, which finished third overall at the 2018 World Cup, failed to qualify for the knockout stage in 2022 despite expectations of a deep run. That trend was at risk of continuing, but New Zealand’s defense was no match for Trossard at a time Belgium needed it most.

Trossard started all three group-stage matches in this year’s World Cup for Belgium, and his first goal Friday was the first scored by a Belgian after more than 200 minutes of play.

In the 28th minute, the ball found Trossard’s feet and he tapped it in from inside the 6-yard box. He then followed up his own rebound in the 50th minute to double the lead for Belgium.

Trossard has shown he can deliver in the big moments not only at the club level, but also on the world’s biggest stage.

“I think he’s the best player of the Belgian selection since the beginning of the World Cup,” manager Rudi Garcia said Friday. “Before the match, I asked him to be more decisive in his play. To be more challenging. Leandro was really able to score a lot at Arsenal, so he’s perfectly capable, and that is what he did tonight.”

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Ben Kule is a student in the University of Georgia’s Carmical Sports Media Institute.

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