New Zealand at the World Cup 2026
Group G · OFC
New Zealand are unbeaten group stage in 2010 and line up in Group G at the 2026 FIFA World Cup — the first 48-team edition of the tournament, co-hosted by the United States, Canada, Mexico. They face Belgium, Egypt, Iran in the group stage. For US (soccer) fans, all New Zealand kickoff times below are shown in Eastern and Pacific as well as GMT. Below: the full New Zealand schedule, kickoff times, group rivals and our model's match predictions.
New Zealand World Cup 2026 Schedule
Kickoff times in US Eastern (ET) and Pacific (PT) are converted automatically from each match's scheduled time; confirm against your local broadcaster.
New Zealand's World Cup 2026 group: how hard is it?
Drawn into Group G, New Zealand share their section with Belgium, Egypt, Iran. None of the rivals have lifted the trophy before, so on paper this is one of the more open groups — qualification is there for the taking. With four confederations potentially represented, styles clash here, and the new 48-team format means the top two go through automatically while the third-placed side still has a realistic route into the Round of 32.
New Zealand's opening fixtures and what to watch
New Zealand open against Iran (away), then meet Egypt before closing the group against Belgium. Group-stage points are usually decided in the first two matchdays, so that opener carries real weight. Our prediction model reads each of these games through recent form, opponent strength and a Dixon-Coles Poisson grid — see the projected scorelines and win probabilities on our World Cup 2026 predictions page.
New Zealand World Cup history
Historically, New Zealand's best World Cup return is unbeaten group stage in 2010. In 2026 they travel to North America, with matches spread across the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Group G — New Zealand's rivals
For match-by-match analysis and predicted scorelines, see our World Cup predictions. You can also view the full Group G table and fixtures, browse all 12 groups and the knockout bracket, or check the complete World Cup 2026 schedule with US kickoff times.