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FIFA World Cup, Belgium held 1-1 by Egypt: Key stats
16 Jun 2026

Belgium and Egypt played out a thrilling 1-1 draw in their respective opening match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The match was held in Seattle.

Emam Ashour gave Egypt an early lead with a powerful strike in the first half.

However, Belgium equalized through an own goal from Mohamed Hany after Romelu Lukaku's introduction as a second-half substitute.

Egypt take lead in 1st half
Match highlights

Egypt took the lead in the 19th minute with Ashour's powerful strike, his first international goal.

Despite several chances, including Jeremy Doku missing a shot just before halftime and Kevin De Bruyne hitting the post from a free-kick, Belgium couldn't equalize in the first half.

The second half saw De Bruyne's free-kick hit the post again as Egypt held onto their slim lead.

Lukaku's introduction changes the game
Game changer

Belgium coach Rudi Garcia brought on Romelu Lukaku in the 66th minute, and within 20 seconds, Belgium equalized.

The Napoli forward made a run into the six-yard box, forcing Hany to turn a dangerous cross into his own net.

However, Lukaku missed a golden opportunity to head the winner with two minutes of regular time remaining.

What the coaches said
Post-match reactions

After the match, Garcia said, "We're still in the competition, foot in the door, but now obviously we have to win against Iran."

Egypt coach Hossam Hassan was pleased with his team's performance against a strong opponent.

He said, "We were the ones who scored the opening goal, and they equalized. I believe we were closer to winning — we really were."

Here are the match stats 
Match stats 

From 15 attempts, Belgium recorded three shots on target. Egypt had just four shots on target from 14 attempts. Rudi Garcia's men had a 53% ball possession in the high-voltage game. They completed 445 passes with a 88% accuracy. Egypt's passes count was 367 with an accuracy of 82%.

Unique record for Salah 
Landmarks 

As per Opta, Salah became the first African player on record (since 1966) to register a FIFA World Cup goal involvement on their birthday.

He assisted Emam Ashour for the opening goal of the game. Notably, Salah occupied the number 10 role against Belgium rather than start from the flank or up front.