The fifth matchday of the 2026 FIFA World Cup didn’t come with a big headline game, but there was plenty on offer for the discerning football fan.
Many expected Spain to batter Cabo Verde the same way Germany did to Curaçao earlier in the tournament, but the game ended in a stunning 0-0 with plenty of drama. Meanwhile Belgium and Egypt duked it out under the searing Seattle sun, playing free-flowing football, yet somehow coming away with only one goal apiece.
It didn’t stop there. Saudi Arabia shocked Uruguay by going 1-0 up in the first half, then somehow held on against all odds to draw the game. Capping off the procession of draws was an absolute blinder between Iran and New Zealand, seeing four quality goals scored at either end.
Check out all the goals, saves, and more from the fifth matchday of the FIFA World Cup!
It’s not a goal, but this save by the Cabo Verde keeper deserves a spot
Vozinha is 40-years-old by the way, the same age as another superannuated keeper who plays for Germany, whose name rhymes with ‘annual lawyer’.
Is this the World Cup for old keepers? Well, if they’re still pulling off saves like that, who can argue? Heck, bring them to the next one too!
Emam Ashour fires an absolute rocket!
Just look at that one go in. Placing a long range screamer past the likes of Thibaut Courtois is no mean feat, requiring a truly thunderous example of the art of shooting. The ball by Mohamed Salah is perfectly placed, and Emam Ashour capitalizes with lethal intent.
That one might be the goal of the matchday.
Kevin De Bruyne hits the post!
Egypt had the advantage, but Belgium were ready to fight for it. Kevin De Bruyne got scintillatingly close with his free kick in the 52nd minute, beautifully curving the ball over the Egyptian wall. It hit the post with venom, and the goalkeeper was nowhere near. A couple inches to the right and it’s 1-1.
This shot was Belgium’s best chance of the game up to that point.
Lukaku scores with his first touch (shh it’s an own goal)
Less than a minute after coming on, Romelu Lukaku made a run and tapped the ball into the net (ignore the fact it was actually an own goal). The commentators literally spent the entire game speculating about when Lukaku would come on and whether Belgium could find a way back without him.
Well, they couldn’t, and they called on their big guns. Boy did he deliver. His goal ended up being the one to save the Belgians a point.
How is it not 1-0? This is why
This seems to be the matchday for goalkeepers, because they keep farming clips. Al-Owais, who was the Man of the Match against Argentina back in the 2022 World Cup, pulled off something rather acrobatic. His feat stopped Saudi Arabia from going a goal down.
Al Amri opens the scoring for Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia have opened their account at the 2026 FIFA World Cup! And the goal wasn’t some fluke, it came after a long spell of dangerous, probing attacks by the Saudis.
The goal seemed to sucker punch Uruguay, who were struggling to get into the game. It also marks 29-year-old Abdulelah Al-Amri’s first ever international goal (technically incorrect, since he scored once before against Kuwait, but that was a friendly game). Never too late to start.
Maxi Araújo gets the equalizer!
After losing the first half, Marcelo Bielsa made a pair of changes that revitalized his team. What followed was endless pressure from Uruguay. It all paid off in the form of Maxi Araújo’s equalizer with ten minutes left in normal time.
Saudi Arabia hadn’t even seen Uruguay’s half once in the last fifteen minutes, it was one way traffic. That kind of thing only ends one way.
Run of play? What’s that?
Incredible little pirouette from Chris Wood that creates a tidy little sequence that ends in a goal. See Spain? Just do that!
New Zealand did not need any momentum or possession or any other buzzwords. They simply went down the other end and scored, leaving Iran looking a little discombobulated.
Iran fires back!
After taking a moment to regroup following the hydration break, Iran came at New Zealand with renewed intensity. The momentum shift eventually caused a breakthrough, in the 32nd minute when Shahriyar Moghanlou manhandled a defender and somehow still managed to assist the equalizer.
Chris Wood with another assist! NZ go ahead again!
Once again, this came out of nowhere. After a long period of dominance by Iran, New Zealand went up the other end and somehow scored. Nottingham Forest striker Chris Wood was the chief architect of the move, getting the assist for a perfect final pass to Elijah Just, who fired true yet again to nab his brace.
What a duo these two make.
Another Iran equalizer? Coming right up!
What a cross! What a header! Iran deserved that second equalizer, and they did it in style. Goalscorer Ramin Rezaeian turned provider for this one, sending in an incredible cross straight to the head of Mohammad Mohebi.
New Zealand were left scratching their heads, wondering how they let the Iranians find a free header inside their box.
In the end, this goal was the one that capped off the matchday, which saw eight goals scored and FOUR draws in four games. The underdogs arguably got the better of it, as none of the ‘favorites’ could manage to win.
Now, with their opening games played, groups G and H remain in the balance! Who do you think will win these groups? Have these games changed your opinion? The tournament marches inexorably onward.
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