The Arsenal forward’s clinical double ignited a five-goal rout in Vancouver, propelling the Red Devils into the knockout stages as group winners with newfound attacking momentum and fluency.
Leandro Trossard says Belgium are “growing into the tournament” after the Arsenal forward scored twice in their 5-1 win over New Zealand.
Belgium arrived at their final Group G fixture still needing a result to guarantee progress, but left Vancouver as group winners after producing their most convincing display of the tournament so far.
Trossard struck twice in Vancouver to set Belgium on their way, before Kevin De Bruyne, Romelu Lukaku and Alexis Saelemaekers added further gloss to the scoreline. New Zealand briefly threatened through Elijah Just, but Belgium always looked in command and head into the knockouts with real momentum.
Asked how he felt after his two goals and Belgium’s group win, Trossard said: “Yeah, I feel very good. I think we’re growing into the tournament, myself as well.
“We’re really happy to become first and go to the next round.”
For Trossard, it was a significant night. Belgium had stumbled through their opening two games, struggling to find fluency in attack, but the Arsenal forward’s double shifted the mood and finally gave the scoreline a look that reflected their attacking intent.
Trossard acknowledged Belgium had carved out chances earlier in the group, but pointed to their improved finishing as the difference this time.
“I think we had the chances as well in the first two games,” he said.
“We didn’t take them. So it’s important that we took them today and it’s always nice to score a lot of goals. We’re just really happy to go through, first place as well. A lot of joy.”
The 31-year-old's opener gave Belgium the foothold they needed, and his second, early after the break, put real distance between the sides. From there, Belgium played with freedom, and the substitutes added the finishing touches late on.
Asked about De Bruyne and Lukaku, who both found the net on a landmark night, Trossard instead highlighted the collective strength of the squad rather than focusing solely on the senior names.
“We’re just really happy with everyone,” Trossard said.
“I think we have such a good group at the moment and everyone is important. You can see today as well, the players coming from the bench, they are involved with goals as well and assists. So we have to just keep on going and continue that into the next round.”
Attention now turns to Belgium’s path through the knockouts, and how far Trossard can help carry this run. The group stage had been patchy until New Zealand, but his display arrived just when Belgium needed a spark.
For Trossard, it was a night that lifted both his tournament and Belgium’s. The real test will be maintaining that edge as the World Cup enters its unforgiving stages.