Emam Ashour gave Egypt a 19th-minute lead on Monday. Mohamed Hany’s 66th-minute own goal, 23 seconds after Romelu Lukaku came on as a substitute, gave Belgium a 1-1 draw in their World Cup Group G opener in Seattle. The result kept Egypt winless across four World Cups.
66,775 packed Lumen Field under a 30C heat advisory for a noon kickoff. Ashour’s first international goal, on his 30th cap, was set up by Mohamed Salah on his 34th birthday. Belgium had looked short of ideas, with Kevin De Bruyne dragging a seventh-minute shot wide and hitting the post from a 53rd-minute free kick. Then Rudi Garcia sent on Lukaku, who had hardly played all season for Napoli after a hamstring injury in March.
A Goal Worth the 92-Year Wait
Egypt had played at the World Cup before without ever leading by more than a single goal. Their second lead in tournament history arrived in the 19th minute of a hot afternoon in Seattle, the match Salah’s generation and its World Cup shot had pointed to for months. Emam Ashour, on his 30th international appearance, finished a move that began with a Salah pass into the area. The Pharaohs were ahead, and Belgium looked short of answers. The lead held until the 66th minute.
Salah, who turned 34 on the day of the match, slipped a pass that unlocked Belgium’s back line. Ashour, playing in the No 8 role, took a touch and lashed a finish past Thibaut Courtois. The strike was his first senior international goal. Belgium’s response, when it came, was a catalogue of near-misses: De Bruyne hit the post in the 53rd minute, Jérémy Doku went close late in the half, and Lukaku headed over from eight yards in the 88th.
Hany, at the other end, was the only player to put the ball in his own net. The first half ended with Egypt’s lead intact, and Belgium had managed one effort on target, De Bruyne’s free kick that hit the post. That second goal Egypt needed never came in the opening 45 minutes.
23 Seconds That Erased the Lead
The substitution board went up in the 66th minute. Lukaku, Belgium’s all-time leading scorer, replaced Charles De Ketelaere up front; the 33-year-old had hardly played all season for Napoli after a hamstring injury in March.
Within half a minute of stepping onto the pitch, Lukaku had forced the equaliser. Thomas Meunier drove a low cross from the right into the six-yard box. Lukaku attacked the ball, with Mohamed Hany and Yasser Ibrahim caught between him and their own goal. The ball struck Hany and rolled across the line, credited as an own goal in the 66th minute. The official match report and the 23-second path to Belgium’s equalizer on the AP wire both put the time at 23 seconds. The Guardian’s live blog had 22 seconds; either figure is the fastest impact by a substitute at this tournament.
The goal was credited to Hany, not to Lukaku, on his first touch in the contest. VAR cleared the incident after the Egypt bench appealed for a foul or offside. The match resumed at 1-1 with twenty-four minutes plus stoppage time remaining.
Belgium captain Youri Tielemans framed Lukaku’s role plainly after the match. “He’s a target man,” Tielemans said. “He needs to build up his fitness, which is understandable after being out for the season. But, he helps us in this way.” Lukaku had not started a competitive game since March, and his introduction changed the shape of the match.
The match shows we were closer to earning the win.
Hossam Hassan, Egypt’s head coach, speaking in Arabic after the 1-1 draw in Seattle.
Egypt’s Winless Streak Stays Intact
Egypt’s draw was their second at a World Cup, and their first point in the United States. The country has now played at four World Cups, in 1934, 1990, 2018 and 2026, without ever winning. Across those seven matches, the Pharaohs have drawn twice and lost five times. Egypt’s 2026 squad and Group G chase had carried the hopes of a nation. The next chance comes against New Zealand on June 21.
The previous draw was 1-1 against the Netherlands in Italy in 1990, the only other time Egypt led in a World Cup match. The Dutch were reigning European champions that summer. Hossam Hassan, Egypt’s current head coach, was on the pitch in that 1990 game. The full scope of Egypt’s World Cup history is mapped in Egypt’s 92-year wait for a first World Cup win.
Hossam Hassan won three Africa Cup of Nations titles as a player, in 1986, 1998 and 2006. As coach, he has taken Egypt to a fourth-place finish at the most recent AFCON in Morocco. His record in charge stands at 19 wins, 8 draws and 3 losses across 30 games. The result in Seattle extends Egypt’s wait; the next chance to end it comes against New Zealand on June 21.
Belgium’s Stalwarts Feel the Heat
Belgium failed to advance past the group stage at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, and they have now gone three tournament matches without a win. De Bruyne’s only World Cup goal remains the stunner against Brazil in the 2018 quarter-final. Coach Rudi Garcia did not hide from the gap between Belgium’s quality and their output on Monday.
“We weren’t really in the groove,” Garcia said in French. “Technically, we left a lot to be desired.” Belgium managed 20 percent of their shots on target, by the coach’s own estimate. Tielemans added: “Our biggest challenge was about us. We lost too many balls, we weren’t quick enough in transition.” The midfield general was frank about the gap between Belgium’s talent and their delivery on the day.
The pattern echoes Belgium’s 2022 tournament, when a side built around the same core failed to escape the group stage. Garcia was hired after that exit to reset the team’s style. The 1-1 in Seattle is now a second warning across three tournament matches. De Bruyne, Lukaku and Courtois are each in their fourth World Cup, with two Group G matches still to play.
Belgium have two Group G matches to reset. Egypt have two Group G matches to break a streak that has run since 1934.
Hassan Speaks, Garcia Looks to Iran
Egypt’s coach did not pretend his team had been perfect. He pointed to the gap between the result and the run of play.
Hassan said his side had been the closer of the two to all three points. Egypt’s lead had survived 47 minutes of Belgian pressure. Three Belgian substitutions failed to break the Pharaohs down in that spell. The Pharaohs’ next assignment is New Zealand in Vancouver on June 21.
Tielemans acknowledged Belgium had been too passive in the opening period. “We were too static, especially in the first half,” the captain said. Belgium now travel to face Iran on June 21. Garcia framed that match as non-negotiable. “We have to win against Iran,” Garcia said. The Red Devils are the highest-ranked side in Group G on FIFA’s June 2026 list, at ninth, with Egypt 29th, Iran 20th and New Zealand 85th. Both of Monday’s teams will expect three points in midweek.
Group G on Matchday One
Belgium and Egypt were the second of two Group G matches played on June 15. The day’s earlier kickoff saw Iran and New Zealand share four goals and a point at SoFi Stadium. After one round, all four Group G sides sit on a single point.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Zealand | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| 2 | Iran | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| 3 | Belgium | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 4 | Egypt | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
New Zealand went ahead twice through Elijah Just, with Iran’s Ramin Rezaeian and Mohammad Mohebi replying. The 2-2 draw leaves Group G wide open heading into the second matchday. None of the four teams have posted a clean sheet. Only one goal separates the top two from the bottom two on goal difference.
Belgium meet Iran on June 21 in the day’s late kickoff, with Egypt facing New Zealand at the same time. The full Group G schedule runs across the next eleven days. The top two teams advance automatically under the 48-team format, with eight of the twelve third-placed teams also going through. Egypt close the group against Iran on June 26 in Seattle. New Zealand and Belgium meet on the same day to close out Group G.
- June 15: Belgium 1-1 Egypt (Lumen Field, Seattle)
- June 15: Iran 2-2 New Zealand (SoFi Stadium, Los Angeles)
- June 21: Belgium vs Iran
- June 21: New Zealand vs Egypt (BC Place, Vancouver)
- June 26: Egypt vs Iran (Lumen Field, Seattle)
- June 26: New Zealand vs Belgium
The group stage concludes on June 26 with Egypt vs Iran in Seattle and New Zealand vs Belgium. The 48-team format sends the top two in each group through automatically. Eight of the twelve third-placed teams also advance, giving a single draw a different weight than in past World Cups.
