Belgium were held to a goalless draw by Iran at the 2026 World Cup on Sunday evening, with Roy Keane pulling no punches in his assessment of the clash during ITV’s coverage

Roy Keane didn’t mince his words as he dubbed Belgium’s World Cup clash with Iran “rubbish” on Sunday evening. Rudi Garcia’s team headed into the encounter as heavy favourites, sitting 12 places higher than their Asian opponents at 10th in the FIFA world rankings.

However, Belgium failed to cause much of a threat against Iran for the duration, even looking to have gone a goal down early. Ehsan Hajsafi looked to be shooting as he stood over the ball to take a free-kick around 30 yards out a little over halfway through the first-half.

However, he instead opted to emulate Teun Koopmeiners’ legendary pass to Wout Weghorst which tied the Netherlands’ clash with Argentina four years ago, slotting in Mehdi Taremi, who burst past the wall and passed the ball into the bottom right corner of the net.

Jubilation inside the Los Angeles Stadium was short-lived on Iran’s part, however, as VAR quickly identified Taremi as being in an offside position as the ball was played by Hajsafi. Chances for both sides were incredibly few and far between for the remainder of the match, with Belgium’s embarrassment worsening when Nathan Ngoy was sent off 67 minutes in.

The young defender miskicked a pass back to Thibaut Courtois deep in his own half, with Taremi bursting goalward after latching onto the loose ball. Ngoy, who was last man back, then brought down the Iran forward, receiving a red card for the foul.

After the uninspiring match ended in a goalless draw, the ITV panel discussed matters from their studio Stateside. When asked by Emma Hayes: “What did Bill Shankly say, Roy?” Keane replied: “The time to judge a player is when you give him time on the ball.

“It’s almost easier for Iran when they were sitting and defending. When they had the extra man, they almost didn’t know what to do with it.

“In terms of the quality of the game, I thought it was rubbish. Really bad. Obviously, Belgium had a couple of really good chances, but the standard in terms of the passing, movement, decision-making…so poor.”

Belgium have struggled in North America this summer, now failing to win either of their World Cup matches thus far – having also drawn 1-1 with Egypt in their tournament opener. They have just one remaining chance to qualify to the knockout stages, in the form of a final Group G clash with New Zealand come Saturday, June 27.

It comes as Iran’s clash with Belgium was coloured with controversy ahead of kick off, when the Asian nation’s flag and anthem were booed by supporters inside the stadium amid conflict in the Middle East.

It’s the second time that such an instance has occurred, with jeers also heard ahead of kick-off for Iran’s match with New Zealand on Tuesday.

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