Trossard fires Belgium toward the last 32 with World Cup brace

Leandro Trossard became Belgium’s “national calming force” on Saturday morning, scoring twice against New Zealand to move his team closer to the round of 32 at the World Cup. The Arsenal forward recorded his first goals for Belgium in a major tournament, after a disappointing World Cup by the team’s own standards.

Belgian media said Trossard seized the moment after a recent report that Besiktas had made him an offer. He had said, “I am waiting for offers from bigger clubs,” after a season in which he was a secondary option at Arsenal, which won the Premier League. Arsenal is still prepared to sell him after the tournament, despite his brace.

HLN wrote that “the national team moved closer to the next stage thanks to Trossard” and praised a “brilliant” Kevin De Bruyne pass to the striker, adding that Trossard was not far from a hat trick. Sforza said Trossard “became the national calming force” and that De Bruyne “reminded us of his best days” with a superb ball.

Trossard became only the seventh Belgian player to score a brace at a World Cup, and the first since 2018. In that tournament, Romelu Lukaku did it twice, against Panama and Tunisia, while Eden Hazard also scored two against Tunisia.