Egypt’s search for a first win at a World Cup continued after they played out a 1-1 draw with Belgium in their 2026 World Cup opener on Monday night, www.aclsports.com reports.
In the intense Group G match at Seattle Stadium, the Pharoahs and the Red Devils could not be separated after 90 minutes.
Belgium, who were favorites before kickoff, had their first real chance of the game in the seventh minute, as Kevin De Bruyne fired just wide from outside the area.
Egypt were compact and efficient in their possession, with Omar Marmoush particularly impressive, but they could not find a way past the Belgian defence.
However, Emam Ashour fired home to hand the Egyptians the lead in the 20th minute having received a Mohamed Salah simple pass.
After that goal, not much happened in the half, as the likes of Jérémy Doku were kept at bay in the opening 45.
After the break, the Belgians turned on the heat and could have been level afterwards, when De Bruyne’s direct free-kick after Doku had been felled cannoned back off the woodwork.
Just minutes after coming on for Belgium, Romelu Lukaku made his presence felt within seconds, and in Mohamed Hany’s attempts to clear the ball from the striker’s path, he only succeeded in putting it into his own net.
Boosted by that goal, Belgium began to pour forward at every opportunity, with Mostofa Shobeir brilliantly denying Brandon Mechele. In the end, the two teams settled for a share of the spoils in their group opener.
Egypt, who made their World Cup debut back in 1934, have played a total of 8 matches (D3 L5) and are still searching for their first win in the global showpiece.
Egypt have been champions of Africa seven times, more times than any other country, and yet their World Cup record is not befitting of that status.
