It will be fair to say that Belgium has not had the best of starts to the FIFA World Cup. Despite the obvious talent they have in their ranks, the Belgians drew their first game against Egypt 1-1, and have done themselves no favors in their second game as well.
Despite dominating proceedings and registering more than 70% of the possession in the first half, they needed Thibaut Courtois to keep the scores level towards the start of the game, per a post on X by ClutchPoints. The Real Madrid keeper pulled off an insane save after the Iran attacker received the ball at the center of his box in the 14th minute. Courtois had to dive quickly to his left to keep the score tied, keeping his team’s hopes alive.
WHAT A SAVE BY THIBAUT COURTOIS
Belgium and Iran remain level at 0-0 thanks to the Belgian keeper’s save
pic.twitter.com/TFCcP6ZEis
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) June 21, 2026
Belgium drew their first game against Egypt after initially falling behind to an Emam Ashour strike. They needed an own goal in the 66th minute to salvage a draw, and struggled to keep the Egyptians at bay despite the difference in quality between the two teams.
Something similar appears to be happening in the second game. In the first half, they had 11 total shots compared to Iran’s two, and a whopping 81% overall possession.
However, while chances have been regular, the conversion has simply not happened, with the likes of Romelu Lukaku and Leandro Trossard both missing multiple chances in the first period. Further, the fact that they still need Courtois to keep the scores level speaks volumes about how the Belgians have approached the tournament thus far.
Apart from Iran, their group consists of Egypt and New Zealand, who will take on each other in their second game of the tournament. Unless the Belgians find a way to win in the second half, they will be left in a delicate situation and will need to win their final group game against New Zealand in order to have a chance of progression, with the goal difference also likely to come into the picture. Hence, what was expected to be a straightforward path to the knockouts has evidently become much more difficult, as things stand.
The post Watch Thibeaut Courtois keep Belgium-Iran World Cup game tied with bonkers early save appeared first on ClutchPoints.
