World Cup Group G Odds & Preview

There’s no doubt that Group G is one of the proverbial Groups of Life at the 2026 World Cup. Belgium is the clear favorite to win Group G per the World Cup Group Winner betting odds, while none of the other three countries in this group have ever made it to the knockout rounds of the World Cup. That means at least one team in this group will make history with its deepest World Cup run ever.

Odds to win Group G

Belgium -280
Egypt +470
Iran +650
New Zealand +2500

Belgium’s Golden Generation were unable to win a major trophy for their country, but they were impressive at the 2014 World Cup before making their deepest run ever at the 2018 World Cup, finishing in third place. The Red Devils were FIFA’s Team of the Year in 2015, 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021, yet they were unable to win either a World Cup or a European Championship.

Many of Belgium’s projected starters at the World Cup are now on the wrong side of 30. Still, they are sizable favorites to emerge top of the table in Group G by the World Cup futures odds given the lack of quality among the other three teams.

Odds to Win World Cup for Group G Teams

Belgium +3500
Egypt +35000
Iran +55000
New Zealand +155000

Oddsmakers are only giving Belgium a realistic shot at winning the World Cup of the teams in Group G. Egyptian star Mo Salah will be 34 when the Pharaohs play their first match, and there isn’t another world-class player on the roster. Meanwhile, Iran is in turmoil considering everything happening in the geopolitical arena, and the team is facing down one of the biggest underdog stories of all time.

Match Schedule

Team Previews

Belgium

This is probably the last gasp for Belgium at the World Cup for the foreseeable future. Belgium have been extremely impressive over the last decade, but their superstars are now aging out, and their younger cohorts simply aren’t as talented.

Belgium boasts one of the best goalkeepers in the world in Thibaut Courtois. The long-time Real Madrid backstop won the Golden Glove as the best goalkeeper at the 2018 World Cup, and he has helped his clubs win a litany of titles during his professional career. Courtois is still playing at an extremely high level, allowing Belgium to have more freedom on the attack.

Veteran Thomas Meunier is the centerpiece of the back line. Meunier has 10 goals in 78 career games for Belgium and can make his mark on the other end of the pitch. Timothy Castagne is very experienced too, while Arthur Theate, Zeno Debast, and Maxim de Cuyper all figure to see significant minutes as well.

The midfield no longer has the sensational Eden Hazard, but Kevin De Bruyne remains an effective playmaker and has netted 36 times for Belgium in 117 appearances. Axel Witsel is even more experienced, while captain Youri Tielemans looks to control the action on both ends of the pitch.

Romelu Lukaku is a superb finisher with 89 goals in 124 games, and Leandro Trossard has had an excellent season for Premier League champions Arsenal. The player to watch up top though is Jeremy Doku. Manchester City signed Doku for €65 million just three years ago, and he is coming off his best season yet with the club. Doku is one of the players that could become a household name at the World Cup due to his speed and explosiveness.

Egypt

Although Egypt is Africa’s oldest team and has won the Africa Cup of Nations more times than any other country (seven), they have had no real success at the World Cup. This will be just the fourth time that the Pharaohs have made it to this stage, yet Egypt has yet to win a match. They were the second-worst team at the 2018 World Cup, losing all three of their matches. However, Egypt were somewhat unfortunate as they conceded in the 89th minute to lose to Uruguay and surrendered a goal in the fifth minute of added time to lose to Saudi Arabia.

Captain Mo Salah is the most talented player on the roster by a mile. Salah is a national hero for his accomplishments over the past decade with Liverpool, and he is set to pass Hossam Hassan as the country’s all-time leading goal scorer. Salah has 67 goals in 115 appearances with the national team, and he is still playing with a lot of quality even though he is set to part ways with Liverpool in the offseason.

The other players of note up top are Trezeguet and Manchester City’s Omar Marmoush. Trezeguet has bounced around over the course of his professional career, but he is experienced and started all three of Egypt’s matches at the 2018 World Cup. As for Marmoush, he might be the heir apparent to Salah. Marmoush was signed by City for almost £60 million in January 2025, and he has shown some highlight reel finishes in limited action, including the Premier League Goal of the Year last season.

Most of the other projected players on the World Cup roster are relatively unknown as they play professional football domestically. Al-Wakrah’s Hamdy Fathy will be the most experienced player in the midfield if Mohamed Elneny is not called back into action, and goalkeeper Mohamed El Shenawy is finally taking over for Essam El Hadary after the latter player becoming the oldest player in World Cup history in 2018.

Iran

It’s only a matter of time before Iran breaks through at the World Cup. They nearly made it out of the Group Stage in 2018, beating Morocco and drawing with Portugal to finish in third place in their group behind Spain and Portugal. However, the deck is massively stacked against them as Iran will be under intense scrutiny given all three of their games are in the United States.

Mehdi Taremi is the second leading goal scorer in Iranian history. Taremi has netted 59 goals in 103 matches for Team Melli, and he plays professionally for Olympiacos in Greece. Mehdi Ghayedi is a second experienced forward, but he has big shoes to fill after Sardar Azmoun was kicked off the national team.

Iran have two experienced playmakers in the midfield. Rostov’s Mohammad Mohebi has scored 14 times in 35 matches for Iran, while Alireza Jahanbakhsh has found the back of the net 17 times in 98 matches. Jahanbakhsh is the captain of Team Melli and became the first Asian player to lead the Eredivisie in scoring after lighting it up with AZ Alkmaar during the 2017-18 campaign.

Everyone expected to play in the back for Iran at the World Cup plays their professional football domestically. There is a ton of experience and familiarity here for Team Melli, but the talent can be lacking. We saw that it was an issue during the 2022 World Cup when Iran surrendered six goals against England in their first match.

New Zealand

The World Cup betting odds have New Zealand as the longshot in Group G. The All Whites will be making their third appearance on this stage this summer, and they were surprisingly decent in 2010. After losing by three goals or more in each of their three matches at the 1982 World Cup, New Zealand drew all three of their matches in South Africa. That included a 1-1 draw against defending World Cup champions Italy, ensuring that the Italians finished at the bottom of the group.

New Zealand finally broke a long losing streak with a 4-1 victory over Chile in late March. Prior to that victory, New Zealand had only secured a result one time in their previous eight international matches and that was a 1-1 draw against Norway back in October.

Captain Chris Wood will carry most of New Zealand’s hopes on his shoulders. Wood has netted 45 goals in 88 matches during his international career, but he missed six months of action with Nottingham Forest due to a knee injury and only returned to the pitch in April.

There is not a lot of talent on this roster aside from Wood. New Zealand will likely defend like mad in front of Millwall goalkeeper Max Crocombe, and Crocombe is coming off a fine season. Tyler Bindon is a player to keep your eye on though as he will be making his World Cup debut at 21 years old, and he has seen a ton of action for the Kiwis since receiving his first international call-up at 18 years old.