2026 World Cup: Lukaku comes on and Belgium secures a draw against Egypt

Belgium vs. Egypt ends 1-1 in their World Cup Group G opener. The Pharaohs dominated the first half and took the lead through Ashour; the Red Devils equalized in the second half thanks to an own goal by Hany: Lukaku’s entrance proved decisive, changing the face of Rudi Garcia’s team.

Egypt dominated the first half: the Pharaohs started much stronger and deservedly led 1-0 at halftime. The Africans broke the deadlock in the 20th minute thanks to Ashour, who scored off an assist from Salah with a powerful shot from the edge of the box that found the far corner. While Belgium struggled to get into the game and made several errors, Egypt maintained a very high intensity and nearly doubled their lead in the 32nd minute through Zico: Courtois made a decisive diving save. Shortly after, the Belgian goalkeeper made another save against Marmoush.

In the second half, the script remained the same at the start; Egypt had two great chances through Zico and Marmoush but failed to find the second goal. As the minutes ticked by, Rudi Garcia’s team began to find their rhythm, thanks largely to Doku, whose series of individual runs sent shivers down the spines of the Egyptian defense. The match heated up: in the 52nd minute, De Bruyne hit the post, and two minutes later, Courtois made spectacular saves against Salah and Ashour.

In the 65th minute, Garcia made the decisive substitution: Lukaku came on for De Ketelaere and, just 10 seconds later, set up the Red Devils’ equalizer. De Bruyne looked for the Napoli striker in the box; Hany beat him to it but ended up putting the ball into his own net. Both teams were going for the win, and the finish was spectacular: in the 77th minute, Lukaku was blocked as he took a shot; in the 81st minute, Egypt’s goalkeeper Shobeir made a decisive diving save on Mechele. Lukaku again had an excellent header in the 88th minute but was off target. The match ended in a draw.