A second-half own goal denied Egypt a first ever World Cup win as Belgium rescued a point from their Group G opener in Seattle. The Pharaohs took the lead in the 21st minute through Al Ahly midfielder Emam Ashour, who thundered a 20-yard strike into the bottom corner past Thibaut Courtois. However, Thomas Meunier's low cross was turned into his own net by Egypt defender Mohamed Hany in the 66th minute, under intense pressure from substitute Romelu Lukaku. Egypt, backed by a passionate support base on the west coast of the United States, hunted their first World Cup win in 8 games since making their tournament debut back in 1934. Instead, the 7-time African champions spent the final moments holding on, though they managed to avoid defeat at a World Cup for only the 3rd time.

Despite being record Africa Cup of Nations winners, Egypt hold a poor record across their previous 3 World Cup appearances, failing to win any of their 8 games since their debut 92 years ago. After going ahead, they nearly doubled their lead before the break when Mostafa Zico's drilled strike across goal was tipped behind by Belgium keeper Courtois. Playing on his 34th birthday, Egypt captain Mohamed Salah also saw a second-half header well-saved by Courtois, whilst goalscorer Ashour failed to hit the target on the rebound. Belgium manager Rudi Garcia introduced the Red Devils' all-time leading goalscorer Lukaku in the 66th minute, and seconds later his presence spooked Hany into his error. Hamstring injuries limited Lukaku to just 40 minutes in Serie A for Napoli across the 2025-26 season. A few minutes before the equaliser, his club teammate Kevin de Bruyne struck the outside of the post from a free-kick as Belgium started to take control.

-BBC