Belgium Beat Tunisia 5-0 As Doku Shines In Final World Cup Warm-Up

Belgium completed World Cup preparations with a dominant 5-0 victory over 10-man Tunisia, sealing a second straight friendly win and underlining strong attacking form ahead of the Group G opener against Egypt on 15 June in North America.

Leandro Trossard, Charles De Ketelaere, Kevin De Bruyne, Dodi Lukebakio and Nicolas Raskin all scored, yet much of the focus centred on Jeremy Doku, whose influence in wide areas repeatedly opened Tunisia up and highlighted the winger’s growing importance for Belgium.

Doku entered this international window after an effective campaign with Manchester City, where 19 goal contributions, split as eight goals and 11 assists, left only Rayan Cherki with 26 and Erling Haaland with 47 ahead among City players across all 2025-26 competitions after the Club World Cup.

The winger continued that club form for Belgium, driving at Tunisia’s defence throughout and finishing with team-high numbers for chances created with eight, touches inside the penalty area with 16, successful dribbles with six and duels won with 11, while supplying two assists.

Belgium’s collective display also impressed the data models, as the Opta supercomputer currently gives the Red Devils only a 2.4% probability of lifting the World Cup, yet this performance suggested a dangerous underdog, with sustained pressure and clinical finishing across both halves.

The shot and xG figures underlined the imbalance between the sides, with Belgium attempting 27 efforts and posting an expected goals value of 3.86, while Tunisia managed seven shots and produced only 0.29 xG, rarely troubling the home defence despite a brief spell of resistance.

Belgium World Cup build-up and changing generation

Belgium’s so-called Golden Generation, featuring De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku, did not capture a major international title, yet the emergence of players such as Doku has offered renewed belief that this squad can compete, even if external predictions remain cautious before the tournament.

That sense of transition was visible here, as established figures like De Bruyne combined with newer faces including De Ketelaere, Lukebakio and Raskin, whose late goals completed the scoreline and showed depth in attacking options for Rudi Garcia before Belgium face Egypt.

Belgium World Cup friendly match narrative

Belgium almost struck inside the opening minute, when Trossard collected an early chance after 42 seconds, forcing Abdelmouhib Chamakh into a sharp save, and the Tunisia goalkeeper then pushed away a De Bruyne free-kick as the hosts controlled possession and territory from the outset.

The breakthrough arrived on 28 minutes, with Doku beating the full-back on the left and driving a low ball across goal, leaving Trossard free to convert from close range, before Chamakh denied De Bruyne again and Omar Rekik cleared Brandon Mechele’s effort off the line.

Belgium doubled the lead eight minutes after half-time as Youri Tielemans delivered a measured cross from the right and De Ketelaere climbed above the defence to send a precise header into the top-right corner, rewarding Belgium’s sustained crossing and movement inside the box.

Tunisia briefly threatened a route back when Elias Achouri struck the woodwork, yet that warning was followed by a major setback on 62 minutes, as Ismael Gharbi collected a second yellow card for a late challenge on Doku, leaving the visitors to finish the match with ten players.

The numerical advantage soon told, with De Bruyne guiding a composed finish into the bottom-left corner three minutes after the dismissal, and Belgium then added two quick goals near the end as Lukebakio and Raskin scored in successive minutes to complete a convincing 5-0 result.

Belgium leave this final World Cup warm-up with confidence, having dominated Tunisia, seen Doku deliver another influential display and watched several attacking players score, while underlying metrics and a strong defensive record suggest a balanced team despite modest external expectations for the tournament.