Belgium wrap up World Cup preparation with huge win over Tunisia
By Luke Oluoch, June 6, 2026The Belgian national team produced a masterpiece of an attacking display to outsmart Tunisia in an international friendly match staged on Saturday, June 6, 2026, in Brussels.
Goals from Leandro Trossard and Charles De Ketelaere set the Belgians on the course to the win, with Kevin De Bruyne, Dodi Lukebakio, and Nicola Raskin adding further goals to seal the resounding finale to their World Cup preparations.
Tunisia was reduced to 10 men in the 62nd minute after Ismaël Gharbi received a second yellow card.
Trossard got the opener 28 minutes in for the World Cup favourites, finishing off from Jeremy Doku’s delivery.
Gharbi sent off
The goal stood until halftime before De Ketelaere doubled the advantage in the 53rd minute from a brilliant laid-on assist from Aston Villa midfielder Youri Tielemans.
Following the dismissal of Gharbi, De Bruyne added a third with a shot outside the box that left the Tunisian keeper stranded in the buildup as Man City hotshot Doku grabbed his second assist of the evening.
The winger was a thorn in the African’s flesh across the game. He made six dribbles and created a total of chances and had 16 touches in the box in a marauding display of running defenders ragged.
German-based Lukebakio then put the tie to bed, converting from veteran attacker Romelu Lukaku’s play to send the Red Devils four up and end the tie as a contest.
Pre-World Cup History
The tie acted as both teams’ final warm-ups for the 2026 World Cup, where the European nation hopes its golden generation of stars can make a successful stab at the global competition, as Tunisia marks yet another World Cup return.
The clash saw an array of Belgian stars take to the pitch, including Manchester United custodian Senne Lammens, who started on the bench, as their first-choice goalkeeper, Thibaut Courtois, started in goal.
The clash also came with its own piece of history in terms of World Cup preps, as the results marked the national team’s biggest-ever victory ahead of a FIFA World Cup tournament.
The team also stayed in fine form in front of goal, repeating their feat of scoring 5+ goals in five of their last ten matches. In as many as six of their previous 63