Late Belgium Comeback Denies Egypt Victory in FIFA World Cup 2026

Egypt put in a strong fight but could not win their first-ever World Cup match at Seattle Stadium, as they drew 1-1 with Belgium in a lively Group G game.

Even in the tough 30-degree heat, both sides started on the attack. The first real chance came in the 7th minute when Belgium’s Kevin De Bruyne tried a shot from outside the box, but it went just wide.

Egypt kept things tight and moved the ball well, with Omar Marmoush standing out. Still, they often found it hard to get past Belgium’s organised defence.

The breakthrough came in the 20th minute when Emam Ashour latched onto a simple pass from Mohamed Salah and struck from distance. His right-footed shot beat Thibaut Courtois and went into the bottom corner, giving Egypt the lead.

Afterwards, right at the start of the second half, Belgium survived a messy moment in front of goal and avoided going further behind. Soon after, they came close to equalising when Kevin De Bruyne took a free-kick after Jeremy Doku was fouled, but the shot hit the woodwork and bounced away.

Things changed in the 66th minute when Romelu Lukaku came on. He made an impact almost instantly, as Mohamed Hany, trying to clear the danger, ended up putting the ball into his own net.

After getting back into the game, Belgium kept pushing forward in search of a winner. Later on, Mostofa Shobeir made a superb one-handed save to stop Brandon Mechele from scoring.

The draw means Belgium have now lost only one of their last 16 World Cup group-stage matches. Egypt, meanwhile, missed out on a fifth clean sheet in their last six games, but the overall performance still gives them some positives to take forward.