Key events<\/p>\n
5 min \u201cI am officially a grumpy old man,\u201d says Niall Mullen. \u201cThe pre-match pageantry is irritating me beyond reason. The insanely large flags, the giant Fifa logo, the tens of thousands of boxfresh replica kits in the crowd (who look like extras from a Coke advert). Someone should tell all of these people that football is actually really good which is why its popularity survives this nonsense.\u201d<\/p>\n
To be honest, I\u2019m getting a bit wound up with all this negativity. Can we not knock it just chill, relax?<\/p>\n
(You\u2019re right, it\u2019s ludicrous and unnecessary. But you can\u2019t fight fate, or rampant avarice. Oh, and wait until you see the pre-match ceremonies in 2038.)<\/p>\n
Share<\/a><\/p>\n 4 min A good, fast start from Egypt. No chances, not even a goshdarn corner, but they\u2019ve been on the front foot.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 3 min \u201cHe may have been on the bench, but it was heartening to see Guillermo Ochoa in the Mexico squad,\u201d writes Matt Dony. \u201cIt\u2019s not a World Cup<\/a> without him. Conversely, it\u2019s disappointing not to see Axel Witsel in the Belgium squad. One of those players I\u2019d lose track of, then there he\u2019d be, every two years, strutting around a major tournament, playing some nice passes and kicking some people. Time marches on. All things tend towards entropy. We\u2019re all going to die. Hope it\u2019s a good game!\u201d<\/p>\n What have I told you about listening to that Flaming Lips song. Or was it Sufjan Stevens?<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 2 min Egypt have started with Salah as the No10 behind Marmoush, with Ziko on the right and Ashour on the left.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 1 min Belgium kick off from left to right as we watch.<\/p>\n Here we go. Photograph: Lee Smith\/ReutersShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a015.08 EDT<\/p>\n Just one more thing It\u2019s Mo Salah\u2019s 34th birthday today. Who writes his scripts these days?<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n The anthems have been belted out and the match is about to begin. With Romelu Lukaku starting on the bench \u2013 he\u2019s barely played all season \u2013 Atalanta\u2019s Charles De Ketelaere will play as a falseish nine.<\/p>\n Charles De Ketelaere<\/a>Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a014.59 EDT<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019ll take some going for Spain v Cape Verde not to be my game of the tournament,\u201d writes James Humphries, and he\u2019s a Scotland supporter. \u201cI could barely watch the last five minutes, and there was a lot of involuntary yelling and clapping. Football, bloody hell.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s such a pure, pleasing underdog story I\u2019m not even unduly bothered by the sudden realisation that cape Verde may very well end up getting more points than us.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n The story of day five has already been written<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Egypt team guide<\/p>\n By Saher Ahmed<\/p>\n Egypt qualified for the World Cup<\/a> unbeaten after missing out on Qatar 2022, booking their ticket to North America with a game to spare. They scored 19 goals in nine matches, as Mohamed Salah led the way with nine, conceded two goals and kept seven clean sheets. Despite the impressive numbers in qualifying, Egypt\u2019s shape is pragmatic more than romantic and they carried that same muscle memory into the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations: tight games, deep stretches without the ball, quick release into Salah or Omar Marmoush. This was exposed by a semi-final defeat to Senegal, when Egypt were set up more to endure rather than to control.<\/p>\n Egypt will probably begin the World Cup<\/a> in a 4-3-3 formation that becomes a 4-2-3-1 when they have to chase a game, while occasionally switching to a 3-5-2 against high blocks. Mohamed El-Shenawy is likely to start in goal, although Mostafa Shobeir has lately been giving the veteran a run for his money. The rest of the spine looks solid with Rami Rabia and either Hossam Abdelmaguid or Yasser Ibrahim in central defence. Marwan Attia and Hamdi Fathi will screen the backline and Emam Ashour will look to deliver the ball to the trio up front.<\/p>\n Egypt are cohesive, often hard to score against and emotionally committed, but they can still look blunt if opponents double up on Salah and the midfield cannot pass through the press. The draw placed Egypt in Group G with Belgium<\/a>, Iran and New Zealand. Egypt have never won a World Cup match so ending that is the floor-level target.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Yara El-Shaboury<\/p>\n Last week Orange, one of Egypt\u2019s leading mobile network operators, released a series of humorous adverts<\/a> starring Egypt\u2019s Ahmed Fatouh, Rami Rabia and Hossam Abdelmaguid, where the trio\u2019s optimism is met with scepticism as partners and family members struggle to take them seriously. Their crime? Daring to suggest Egypt might finally progress beyond the group stage of a World Cup.<\/p>\n If there is one thing Egyptians do particularly well, it is self-deprecation. Perhaps that comes from history. Despite winning the Africa Cup of Nations seven times, Egypt are still waiting for their first World Cup<\/a> victory. The Pharaohs will kick off their fourth appearance at the tournament against Belgium on Monday knowing they failed to win any of their seven matches so far.<\/p>\n That is the contradiction at the heart of Egyptian football. No African nation has won more continental titles, yet Egypt remain one of the continent\u2019s World Cup<\/a> underachievers. While other African nations aim to replicate Morocco\u2019s 2022 semi-final success, many Egyptians would happily settle for something far more modest: a single group stage victory.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Team news<\/p>\n Belgium (4-2-3-1) Courtois; Meunier, Ngoy, Mechele, Ngoy, Castagne; Onana, Tielemans; Doku, De Bruyne, Trossard, De \u200bKetelaere.<\/p>\n Subs: Lammens, Penders, Theate, De Cuyper, Witsel, Lukaku, Lukebakio, De Winter, Seys, Moreira, Vanaken, Saelemaekers, Raskin, Fernandez-Pardo.<\/p>\n Egypt (4-2-3-1) \u200bShobeir; Hany, \u200bFathy, Ibrahim, \u200bFattouh; Lasheen, Attia; Salah, Ashour, Ziko; Marmoush.<\/p>\n Subs: El Shenawy, Soliman, Alaa, Abdelmaguid, Rabia, Abdelmoneim, Trezeguet, Abdelkarim, Hassan, Hafez, Donga, Adel, Saber, Alaa, Zizo.<\/p>\n Referee Ramon Abatti (Brazil)<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a014.35 EDT<\/p>\n Full time: Spain 0-0 Cape Verde<\/p>\n Yep, Spain 0-0 Cape Verde. There won\u2019t be a more life-affirming goalless draw at this year\u2019s World Cup; there may never have been one.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a014.00 EDT<\/p>\n Belgium team guide<\/p>\n By Ludo Vandewalle<\/p>\n The head coach, Rudi Garcia, is well aware that the Red Devils\u2019 strength lies in attack. Kevin De Bruyne, J\u00e9r\u00e9my Doku and Romelu Lukaku can each make a difference in their own way. The defence is, except for goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, the weak point after the golden generation of Toby Alderweireld, Vincent Kompany, Thomas Vermaelen and Jan Vertonghen gradually retired. \u201cThat is why I will always choose four defenders and not five,\u201d Garcia explains. \u201cWith five defenders I have to sacrifice an attacking player and that would be a shame.\u201d<\/p>\n Garcia usually opts for a medium block to support the attack and not put too much pressure on the defenders. His reasoning could be described as flawed because there is a problem with Lukaku. He played only 64 minutes for Napoli this season and none for the national team because of injuries until coming off the bench in Tuesday night\u2019s 2-0 win against Croatia, scoring the second goal in added time. He was also deeply affected by the death of his father. Belgium\u2019s all time top scorer \u2013 90 goals \u2013 will therefore start the World Cup<\/a> without any kind of match rhythm.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n The other teams in Group G are Iran and New Zealand, who meet in the last of today\u2019s games.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Preamble<\/p>\n Hel and welcome to live, minute-by-minute coverage of Belgium v Egypt at Seattle Stadium. The 2026 World Cup<\/a> is gathering pace \u2013 we\u2019re already into day five, and by tomorrow morning 32 of the 48 teams will have been in action.<\/p>\n So far we\u2019ve seen everything from potential winners to probable also-rans. It\u2019s hard to know where Belgium<\/a> and Egypt fit on that particular spectrum. Both are adjusting to life after a golden generation, or at least with a dwindling golden generation that no longer glisters as it once did. But they are still serious teams who could do damage in the competition.<\/p>\n This intriguing game should give us a clue as to the extent of that damage.<\/p>\n Kick off 12pm local\/8pm BST\/3pm EDT\/5am AEST<\/p>\n