Egypt played out a thrilling 1-1 draw against Belgium at the Seattle Stadium in their opening match of the FIFA World Cup 2026 group stage.
The Pharaohs delivered arguably one of the finest performances in their World Cup history, dominating the majority of the game and creating multiple clear-cut scoring opportunities against the European giants.
Emam Ashour opened the scoring for Egypt in the 19th minute, unleashing a thunderous strike from the edge of the box that left Thibaut Courtois helpless. However, Egypt missed several chances to kill off the game in the second half; Omar Marmoush squandered two golden opportunities, and Ashour missed a shocking rebound after Courtois parried an initial shot.
On the other side, Belgium struggled to threaten Mostafa Shobeir’s goal, with their closest chance coming from a Kevin De Bruyne free-kick that rattled the right post. The Red Devils eventually found their equalizer through an unfortunate Mohamed Hany own goal. Belgium nearly snatched a second, but Shobeir pulled off a spectacular, world-class save to deny a powerful header from Michy Batshuayi in the 75th minute.
Hossam Hassan’s Tactical Surprise: In the closing stages, Egypt regained control. Manager Hossam Hassan surprised everyone by subbing off global superstar Mohamed Salah in the 76th minute, introducing Ahmed Sayed Zizo to refresh the attack. Despite late pressure, the match ended 1-1.
With this result, Egypt’s World Cup winless jinx continues, marking their seventh consecutive match in the tournament’s history without a victory.
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What’s Next? Egypt will face New Zealand next Monday, before wrapping up their Group Stage campaign against Iran on Saturday, June 27.
