Egypt looked set to win for the first time at the World Cup, but the introduction of Romelu Lukaku salvaged a point for Belgium.
Egypt were denied a first-ever World Cup win after playing out a 1-1 draw with Belgium at Seattle Stadium.
Mohamed Hany‘s own goal in the 66th minute cancelled out Emam Ashour‘s brilliant opener, and neither side were able to find a winner in the first match of Group G.
Soon after Kevin De Bruyne had flashed an effort wide of the post early on, Egypt broke the deadlock on 19 minutes as Ashour beat Thibaut Courtois from distance having been afforded far too much time and space.
Mostafa Zico almost doubled the lead shortly after the half-hour mark, but was denied by Courtois at full stretch, while Jérémy Doku blazed over at the other end on the stroke of half-time.
The second half followed suit, with Zico mistiming his shot from Mohamed Salah’s cut-back, while Salah also had a header pushed away by Courtois. At the other end, De Bruyne struck the woodwork from a smart free-kick.
However, after Omar Marmoush saw a deflected strike land wide of the post, Belgium pulled themselves level as Thomas Meunier’s low cross was inadvertently turned into his own goal by Hany.
Romelu Lukaku was introduced from the bench, and just 22 seconds after appearing, he forced Hany’s own goal to level the scores. He then saw a powerful effort from the edge of the box blocked, before Brandon Mechele had a header turned away by Mostafa Shobeir.
That goal ends a run of 325 minutes of World Cup football for Belgium without scoring, since Michy Batshuayi’s goal in their opening group-stage game at Qatar 2022. pic.twitter.com/S8a6DO0f9x
— Opta Analyst (@OptaAnalyst) June 15, 2026
Lukaku had one more chance to snatch victory for Belgium, but his header from Nicolas Raskin’s cross flew over the bar as the sides had to settle for a point.
Belgian and Egyptian Stars Shine on the Big Stage
It was almost a perfect birthday for Salah, who turned 34 on Monday, as his assist for Ashour looked set to secure a famous victory for Egypt.
At exactly 34 years of age, Salah is the second-oldest African player to provide an assist at the World Cup since 1966, after Roger Milla in 1990 against England (aged 38 years and 42 days).
Salah created the most chances for his side (three), while Manchester City’s Marmoush recorded the most shots (five) as Egypt proved they can be a real threat this summer.
However, Lukaku, playing in his fourth World Cup, came off the bench and made an immediate impact for Rudi Garcia’s side as he pushed the Egypt backline towards their own goal and was a constant presence.
Leandro Trossard and Youri Tielemans (both three) led in chances created for Belgium, while De Bruyne was unable to score with any of his five shots as key players on both teams looked to make their mark.
Hany’s own goal is the third own goal of the 2026 World Cup, already one more than in the whole of the 2022 edition combined.
But the defender can count himself unfortunate after a brilliant display, winning five of his six tackles, eight of his 11 duels and completing both of his dribbles.
Our Opta match centre delivers you all the Belgium vs Egypt stats from their 2026 FIFA World Cup Group G match at Lumen Field in Seattle.
The match centre below includes team and player stats, expected goals data, passing networks, an Opta chalkboard and more. It gives you everything you need to do your own match analysis.
Underneath the match centre, you can find the official Opta stats on the game as well.
Belgium vs Egypt Verde: Post-Match Opta Facts
Turning 34 today, Mohamed Salah became the first African player to register a FIFA World Cup goal involvement on his birthday.
Coming on for Mohamed Salah after 76 minutes, Hamza Abdelkarim became Egypt’s youngest ever FIFA World Cup player (18y 165d).
Belgium have failed to win their last three FIFA World Cup games (D2 L1), as many times as in their previous 15 games in the competition combined (W12 L3).
Egypt have never won a FIFA World Cup game in eight attempts (D3 L5), the second most of any nation in the competition’s history after Honduras (9).
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