RIYADH: Romelu Lukaku will not be a popular man in Egypt tonight. His quick-fire equalizing effort for Belgium, albeit officially recorded as a Mohammed Hany own goal, came just eight seconds after his introduction as a substitute, and it denied the Pharaohs what would have been their first-ever World Cup victory. Instead, the 92-year wait for a win continues.
Egypt frustrated and outplayed Belgium for more than an hour at Lumen Field in Seattle before the momentum of the game shifted following the equalizer. But while the result might feel disappointing given the way the match unfolded, few Egyptian fans would have turned down the offer of a draw before kickoff. Belgium are the highest-ranked side in the group, after all, and Egypt took a point off them — even if they were left wondering about what might have been.
The game began cautiously, with Egypt enjoying more of the ball and looking for combinations between Emam Ashour, Omar Marmoush and Mohammed Salah to help break through a disciplined Belgian defense.
A light man-to-man press was all coach Rudi Garcia instructed his Belgium side to employ under the shining Seattle sun. It almost paid off in the sixth minute when Kevin De Bruyne received the ball outside of the box and his effort narrowly curled past goalkeeper Mostafa Shoubir’s post. But other than that, the early momentum belonged to Egypt.
Their dominance was quickly rewarded when, in the 20th minute, Salah picked out Ashour with a diagonal pass on the edge of the area and the midfielder, who had never previously scored for his country, struck the ball with confidence and power past Thibaut Courtois.
Belgium, meanwhile, struggled to break through the Egyptian defense, with Jeremy Doku in particular finding Hany a difficult opponent to overcome. Just after the half-hour mark, Garcia switched the positions of Doku and Leandro Trossard, allowing the former to operate in more space as Belgium gradually began to put Egypt under more pressure.
However, nothing came of this before the break as Belgium’s patient approach failed to create enough danger to seriously trouble their opponents.
In the second half, Egypt dropped deeper while the Belgians committed more numbers forward in an attempt to overload the Egyptian midfield.
In the 52nd minute, Marawan Attia gave the Egyptian fans a scare when he fouled Doku just outside the area after already picking up a booking in the first half. De Bruyne’s free-kick then rattled the post.
Minutes later, though, Egypt came close to doubling their advantage when a Salah header was parried by Courtois directly into the path of Ashour, who had a chance to grab his second of the night but the effort flew wide. Another opportunity presented itself for Egypt shortly afterwards when Marmoush led a counterattack, only to see his shot drift wide of the target.
Egypt would come to regret those missed chances when Lukaku was introduced in the 66th minute and needed just eight seconds to make his mark. A long ball released Thomas Meunier down the flank and his delivery was met by Lukaku, who squeezed between Hany and Yasser Ibrahim to force the ball into the goal. The equalizer was initially awarded to the Belgian but then changed to record it as a Hany own goal.
As had been the case after Ashour’s goal, a hydration break immediately followed, and both sides looked to seize the initiative after the restart. Egypt introduced Ramy Rabia for Ashour, before Zizo replaced Mostafa Zico, and Barcelona B youngster Hamza Abdelkarim came on for Salah.
Both sides had opportunities to snatch victory, but neither could make the decisive breakthrough. The best chance fell to Belgium in the 82nd minute when Shoubir produced an excellent save to keep out a powerful Brandon Mechele header. The Egyptians appealed for a penalty in the 89th minute when Zizo went down on the edge of the area but the referee waved play on.
Ultimately, Egypt were forced to settle for a point that felt both encouraging and frustrating in equal measure; they proved that they could compete with one of the tournament’s strongest sides but their long wait for a first-ever World Cup victory continues.
The Group G action continues in the early hours of June 16 when Iran will face New Zealand at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. Egypt’s attention now turns to their game against New Zealand in Vancouver on June 22, with the kick-off at 4 a.m. Saudi time.
