The Belgium manager Rudi Garcia did not mince his words when he was asked about Romelu Lukaku's fitness heading into the striker's fourth World Cup. "He's out of shape," said Garcia, before explaining why he would be selecting the former Chelsea and Manchester United forward regardless. "But he's our best striker and record scorer," he said of a man who played just 69 minutes for Napoli last season but has the pedigree of 90 international goals.
With Belgium trailing 1-0 after 66 minutes – and barely testing an Egyptian team themselves hoping to end a near-century wait for a World Cup win – Garcia duly turned to Lukaku. Twenty-two seconds later and the score was 1-1. Yes, Lukaku was not ultimately credited with what was a Mohamed Hany own goal, but there could be no doubt that his vast presence sprinting into the heart of the Egypt's otherwise resolute defence had been decisive.
"We saw the impact," Garcia said. "I'm happy he's recovered, because Belgium doesn't have another player like him. I know everyone wants to see him ⁠start, but we'll take it step-by-step."
Belgium's golden generation might have withered since their semi-final peak in 2018, but no team with Kevin De Bruyne and Thibaut Courtois in the starting XI, and enhanced in recent years by Jeremy Doku and Leandro Trossard, should be entirely discounted.
Aston Villa's Youri Tielemans further added to the Premier League feel against an Egyptian team who, remarkably, were seeking their first win at a World Cup finals. With a record seven titles in the Africa Cup of Nations, that is quite an anomaly, but it should be different this time in a group that also contains Iran and New Zealand. Egypt went unbeaten and conceded just two goals in 10 games, and prefer a counter-attacking style of play that should be effective in the North American heat.
With captain Mohamed Salah celebrating his 34th birthday, Egypt soon settled into a rhythm in the 30C Seattle heat that largely involved ceding possession while placing an emphasis on defensive organisation. Belgium tamely probed but were creating precious few clear chances and almost 60 per cent of first-half possession yielded no shots on target.
Egypt, by contrast, were content to defend with discipline and high work rate while being ready to quickly transition defence into attack, particularly through Salah and Manchester City's Omar Marmoush. With Gianni Infantino, the Fifa president, looking on, and the midday heat also always likely to reward astute energy management, Egypt's tactics paid dividends in the 19th minute.
Emam Ashour had drifted in from the left flank and, with Thomas Meunier and Trossard allowing him several metres of space, the Al Ahly midfielder cut inside before unleashing a superb finish to leave Courtois utterly helpless. It was one of the goals so far of the tournament and also Ashour's first in 30 international games.
There was a flicker of reaction from Belgium, with a clear chance finally created for Doku, only for their first half to be summed up by a finish that was sprayed high and wide.
Garcia did make a significant switch at half-time. Doku, who had started out wide, was moved into the centre to provide pace and a more direct running threat. It almost reaped immediate dividends. Doku was tripped by Marwan Attia and won a free-kick on the edge of Egypt's penalty area, with De Bruyne's shot then cannoning off the outside of a post. Still not a shot on target, but the closest yet. From Belgium's first corner, Tielemans then also shot wide before De Bruyne was gifted a wonderful chance that he could only scuff straight at Egypt goalkeeper Mostafa Shobeir.
Mostafa Shobeir was impressive in goal for Egypt - Manu Fernandez/AP
Egypt remained content to wait for their counter-attacking chances, with Marmoush suddenly sprinting clear on goal before shooting wide.
While Garcia was well aware of Lukaku's physical limitations, there could be little doubt where he would turn in search of an equaliser. And so on came Lukaku and, despite some controversy over the positioning of an immediate free-kick, Belgium were level. With the ball passed wide, Lukaku instantly surged between Egypt defenders Hany and Yasser Ibrahim before Shobeir was finally beaten. Despite Lukaku's celebrations, replays confirmed that the final touch had actually come off Hany, albeit under huge pressure from Belgium's 6ft 3in striker.
Belgium were now on top but, after Shobeir dived to deny Brandon Mechele and Lukaku headed a wonderful chance over, Egypt restored some of their earlier defensive solidity to hold out for a draw.
10:19pm
10:14pm
10:12pm
"It was a good game for the whole team, we all wanted the three points. we got one point in the end but we gave it our all and we need to thank the fans that came. The atmosphere was great and we focus now on the next match. We knew Belgium are a great team, who have good players. We are now waiting for the next match and an even better atmosphere."
10:08pm
Group G:Iran vs New Zealand, 2am
Group I:
France vs Senegal, 8pm
Iraq vs Norway, 11pm
10:05pm
Today:Belgium 1 Egypt 1 (Seattle)
Tuesday June 16:Iran vs New Zealand 2am (Los Angeles)
Sunday June 21:Belgium vs Iran 8pm (Los Angeles)
Monday June 22:New Zealand vs Egypt 2am (Vancouver)
Saturday June 27:
Egypt vs Iran 4am (Seattle)
New Zealand vs Belgium 4am (Vancouver)
The other two teams in this group, Iran and New Zealand, get their campaigns off and running in a few hours in Los Angeles.
10:03pm
Group E:Ivory Coast 1 Ecuador 0
Group F:Sweden 5 Tunisia 1
Group G:Belgium 1 Egypt 1
Group H:
Spain 0 Cape Verde 0
Saudi Arabia vs Uruguay 11pm
10:01pm
Possession:Belgium 53%-47% Egypt
Shots:15-14
Shots on target:3-3
Corners:2-7
Touches in opposition box:30-25
I said that a draw was probably a fair result as both teams had plenty of chances and the statistics reflect that.
09:57pm
There is the final whistle in Seattle and both sides have to settle for a point. It was an engaging game with plenty of chances and it could have gone either way. A draw feels like a fair result.
09:56pm
Belgium will have a free-kick inside the Egypt half deep into stoppage time and it was a soft free-kick to say the least.
Their captain Tielemans will take and this will surely by Belgium's last chance to find a winner. He finds Mechele at the front post but the defender's flick-on goes over.
09:52pm
There will be five added minutes. Will there be a late winner?
09:51pm
Egypt want a penalty. Zizo is played in down the right channel and cuts inside De Cuyper on the edge of the box. Zizo goes down but was there enough for a penalty. Perhaps not quite.
09:51pm
Egypt are going to make two late substitutions as Hafez and Azel replace Fathy and Fatouh.
09:49pm
Should Lukaku have buried that chance? I think so. The cross from the right from Raskin is superb and picks out Lukaku eight yards out. However, Lukaku's header goes over the bar when at the very least he should be hitting the target.
09:48pm
Double change for Belgium as Vanaken and Fernandez-Pardo come on. De Bruyne and Doku come off.
09:47pm
This game really could go either way as both sides are having chances.
09:45pm
Belgium attack from their own box as Courtois rolls the ball into the path of De Bruyne, who drives into the Egypt half before playing out to his left to Doku, who cuts inside Hany and is brought down not far outside the Egypt penalty area. This could be dangerous moment for Egypt as De Bruyne stands over the free-kick.
De Bruyne clips it in but Shoubir punches away. Belgium keep it alive and the ball is sent back into the Egypt box. Shoubir then comes up with a big save to deny Mechele.
09:42pm
We head into the final ten minutes of normal time with this game still very finely poised.
09:39pm
De Cuyper is the latest player into the book for pulling Zico back.
Egypt are making a double substitution as Zizo and 18-year-old Abdelkarim replace Zico and captain Salah, who heads off on his 34th birthday. Abdelkarim has been signed up by Barcelona.
09:35pm
Trossard and Meunier exchange a lovely one-two out on the right for Belgium before the latter has a shot saved by Shoubir.
09:33pm
Egypt have made a change following the hydration break as Rabia replaces their goalscorer Ashour.
09:28pmKey moments • Goals • Video
Belgium equalise and Lukaku, on the pitch for a matter of seconds, is involved. Tielemans spots the run of Meunier down the right and picks him out. Meunier's cross into the centre looks for Lukaku but the last touch actually comes off Hany, who is unlucky as he has played pretty well today. It will go down as an own goal but Belgium will not care one bit.
09:28pm
A change up top for Belgium as Lukaku, their all-time top scorer, replaces De Ketelaere.
09:27pm
Salah's first-time ball picks out the run of Marmoush into the left channel. Marmoush, as he enters the Belgium box, cuts inside onto his right and gets the shot away. It takes a big deflection off Ngoy and goes just wide of the far post.
09:25pm
There are chances galore at the moment for both sides with the latest falling to De Bruyne. Meunier's cross from the right side of the box picks out De Bruyne in the centre but he scuffs his shot and it is a fairly routine save for Shoubir.
09:24pm
Nearly a stunner from Tielemans. A Belgium corner out on the right is headed out to the edge of the box, where Tielemans volleys it first time. The Aston Villa midfielder catches it well but it goes just wide.
09:23pm
Doku goes down inside the Egypt box wanting a penalty as he skipped between two Egyptian defenders but those appeals are waved away. That is the right decision as that is never a penalty.
Egypt thought Jeremy Doku was trying to buy a penalty - Lee Smith/Reuters
09:22pm
Egypt break and nearly double their lead. Salah feeds it forward to Marmoush who, on halfway, skips past Ngoy. Marmoush races through the Belgium half into the penalty area but, just as he is about to shoot, he gets a slight nudge in the back, which puts him off as he shoots high and wide.
Egypt looking for a second - Albert Gea/Reuters
09:18pm
Rudi Garcia is making a double change for Belgium as De Cuyper and Raskin replace Castagne and Onana.
09:18pm
A huge chance for Egypt to double their advantage. First, Salah's header is well saved by Courtois but it comes straight to Ashour, who should score his second of the game but lashes at the effort wildly and drags it well wide.
Should do better - Fran Santiago/Getty Images
09:16pmKey moments
De Bruyne hits the post! Egypt took a while to sort their wall out and De Bruyne gets it over them. The former Manchester City man strikes it well but the ball ricochets off the outside of the wall. Egypt keeper Shoubir did not look like he was getting across to save that one had it been on target.
So close to an equaliser for Belgium - Lee Smith/Reuters
Nearly a perfect free-kick from Kevin De Bruyne - Albert Gea/Reuters
09:14pm
Doku is brought down by Attia just outside the Egypt box and this is a dangerous moment for the Egyptians. It is pretty central, a few yards outside the penalty area, and De Bruyne is standing over it...
09:13pm
Egypt have done a good job thus far of getting defenders around Doku and hounding him out. Doku has not really had the opportunity thus far to get too many one-on-ones and the few he has had Hany has dealt well with.
09:12pm
How long will Rudi Garcia leave it to make any changes? You suspect he will give it 10 to 15 minutes before turning to his bench, unless his side can step it up soon.
09:10pm
Two chances in quick succession for Egypt, both inside the Belgium penalty area, as both Zico and Marmoush have shots blocked. Really Zico should have done better with his chance as the cross came in from the left side of the box but he scuffed his effort.
09:07pm
We are back under way in Seattle, with Egypt 45 minutes away from their first-ever World Cup win.
No changes for either side at the break.
08:58pm
What a way to score your first international goal!
Emam Ashour's stunner has Egypt in front - Manu Fernandez/AP
08:57pm
Egypt are seeking their first-ever World Cup victory - Alex Grimm/Getty Images
08:55pm
Possession:Belgium 58%-42% Egypt
Shots:7-4
Shots on target:0-3
Corners:0-4
Touches in opposition box:14-4
08:50pm
After a couple of dangerous corners from Egypt late in the half, the first half is brought to an end and Egypt lead 1-0 at the break thanks to that stunning strike from Ashour.
08:49pm
Belgium are nearly punished. Ngoy's header back towards his keeper is terrible before Marmoush is denied from a narrow angle by Courtois.
08:47pm
A huge wasted chance by Doku. Egypt fail to deal with a long throw into their box and De Ketelaere lays it into the path of Doku near the penalty spot. However, Doku's shot is wild and misses the target by a distance. He should be doing so much better with that opportunity.
08:45pm
Egypt are winning plenty of duels and second balls at the moment; in many ways they look hungrier right now than Belgium.
There will be four added minutes at the end of this first half.
08:43pm
That probably sums up this frustrating first half for Belgium as De Bruyne's shot from range hits his teammate De Ketelaere.
08:42pm
With Doku not getting much joy out of Egypt right-back Hany, Belgium boss Rudi Garcia has decided to switch his wingers, with Trossard moving to the left and Doku switching over to the right.
08:39pm
De Bruyne clips in a cross from the left side of the box to pick out Doku at the far post. Doku then cuts it back into the path of Trossard but the Arsenal forward completely fluffs his line and miskicks his shot.
08:35pm
Doku breaks for Belgium and is then brought down by Fatouh on the right touchline. Despite protestations on the Egyptian bench, Fatouh is shown a yellow card for that sliding challenge.
08:34pm
Egypt come close to a second. Zico is found in space out on the right and it looks like he will cross from the right side of the penalty area but instead shoots. It is a decent shot from Zico, which forces Courtois into a good save down to his left.
08:32pmAnalysis
Had been quite a one-paced game until that moment of brilliance from Emam Ashour. Thomas Meunier was caught napping at right-back, with Egypt ceding plenty of possession and containing Belgium before Ashour darted into space and finished quite brilliantly. Egypt barely conceded a goal in qualifying and look to have a very effective style of counter-attacking play, especially in this heat.
08:30pm
Egypt right-back Hany is directly up against Belgium and Manchester City winger Doku and so far has marshalled him well. Hany is getting out to his man quickly and not allowing Doku to get up to speed and driving at hime at pace.
08:28pm
Since scoring Egypt's goal, Ashour has been called upon for some defensive actions and has done so well.
08:25pm
During the hydration break, the sprinklers were put on.
We are back under way.
08:24pm
As we have had to get used to during this tournament, we have the hydration break, which might come as a relief to these players in this heat. As they head for the break, Marmoush whips up the Egyptian fans, who are making plenty of noise following Ashour's stunning goal.
Celebration time for Egypt - Manu Fernandez/AP
08:20pmKey moments • Goals • Video
What a finish! The game kicks into life with a quite stunning goal and the Egyptian fans are sent into a state of delirium in the Seattle sunshine. Salah lays it into the path of Ashour in a central position. From just outside the Belgium penalty area, Ashour takes one touch before firing a powerful strike past Courtois. That is Ashour's first international goal and has chosen a pretty good moment to score it.
08:15pm
Like London buses, two yellow cards come at once. Moments after Egypt received a booking, now Belgium do. Salah was breaking away and Castagne cynically pulled him back. Both yellow cards have been pretty easy calls for the referee.
Clear-cut yellow card - Agustin Marcarian/Reuters
08:14pm
We have the first booking of the game and it goes the way of Egypt. Belgium centre-back Ngoy skipped past Attia on halfway and is cynically brought down, resulting in a fairly simple yellow for Attia, who will now have to be careful for the rest of the game.
08:13pm
One of the rules brought in at this World Cup is the ability for the VAR to overturn a corner decision when it is clearly a goal kick and we have an example of that now, with Belgium thinking they had a corner only for the last touch to come off De Ketelaere and the decision is changed.
08:11pm
Belgium's midfield and attack has a very Premier League look to it with captain Tielemans, Onana, Trossard and Doku all in there. Tielemans and Onana also play alongside each other at club level with Aston Villa so that should help Belgium in terms of continuity in the centre of the pitch.
Fifa president Gianni Infantino is in attendance in Seattle today.
08:07pm
First chance of the game for Belgium and it fell to De Bruyne. Tielemans lays it off to the former Manchester City man in a central position on the edge of the area. De Bruyne looks to pick out the bottom corner but his shot goes wide. You would have expected De Bruyne to have hit the target there.
Decent opportunity for Kevin De Bruyne - Albert Gea/Reuters
08:06pmAnalysis
The weather could well play its part in this one. It's midday and 30 degrees already in Seattle inside a predominantly NFL stadium that, while certainly aesthetically pleasing, offers precious little shade either to the spectators or the players.
08:02pm
Certainly in these early stages, Salah appears to be starting in a number ten role just in behind Marmoush, who is leading the line for Egypt. Those two will be essential if Egypt are to beat Belgium today.
08:00pm
We are under way in the heat of Seattle. Will Egypt secure their first-ever win at the World Cup or will Belgium get their campaign off and running with a bang?
07:57pm
Belgium:Courtois, Mechele, Meunier, Castagne, Ngoy, De Bruyne, Tielemans, Onana, Trossard, Doku, De Ketelaere.
Substitutes: Lammens, Penders, Theate, De Cuyper, De Winter, Seys, Witsel, Moreira, Vanaken, Saelemaekers, Raskin, Lukaku, Lukebakio, Fernandez-Pardo.
Egypt:Shoubir, Ibrahim, Hany, Fatouh, Ashour, Zico, Fathy, Lashino, Attia, Salah, Marmoush.
Substitutes: Elshenawy, Soliman, M. Alaa, Abdelmaguid, Rabia, Abdelmoneim, Hafez, T. Alaa, Donga, Saber, Trezeguet, Abdelkarim, Hassan, Adel, Zizo.
07:54pm
As we have come to expect at this World Cup, all members of both squads take to the pitch and line up around the centre circle. It is hot in Seattle, where it is approaching midday and the temperature is in the late 20s. Mohamed Salah leads out Egypt, Youri Tielemans Belgium.
Both squads line up around the centre circle and it is time for the national anthems. Belgium's La Brabançonne followed by Egypt's Biladi, Biladi, Biladi .
07:51pm
Mohamed Salah turns 34 today - Lindesy Wasson/AP
07:49pm
07:46pm
07:38pm
07:32pm
Belgium:
June 2026: Belgium 5 Tunisia 0 (Friendly)
June 2026: Croatia 0 Belgium 2 (Friendly)
April 2026: Mexico 1 Belgium 1 (Friendly)
March 2026: USA 2 Belgium 5 (Friendly)
November 2025: Belgium 7 Liechtenstein 0 (World Cup qualifying)
Egypt:
June 2026: Brazil 2 Egypt 1 (Friendly)
May 2026: Egypt 1 Russia 0 (Friendly)
March 2026: Spain 0 Egypt 0 (Friendly)
March 2026: Saudi Arabia 0 Egypt 4 (Friendly)
January 2026: Egypt 0 Nigeria 0 (Africa Cup of Nations, Nigeria won 4-2 on penalties)
07:25pm
Everyone spoke of Belgium's golden generation, in particular during the 2010s, but they failed to win the World Cup or the European Championship. Here is their World Cup record over the last couple of decades:
2006: Failed to qualify
2010: Failed to qualify
2014: Quarter-finals
2018: Third place
2022: Group stages
07:20pm
07:14pm
Today:Belgium vs Egypt 8pm (Seattle)
Tuesday June 16:Iran vs New Zealand 2am (Los Angeles)
Sunday June 21:Belgium vs Iran 8pm (Los Angeles)
Monday June 22:New Zealand vs Egypt 2am (Vancouver)
Saturday June 27:
Egypt vs Iran 4am (Seattle)
New Zealand vs Belgium 4am (Vancouver)
07:07pm
After 257 goals and nine historic years at Liverpool, Mohamed Salah has said goodbye to Anfield and we await to see what his next club move will be. Salah turns 34 today and will be hoping this World Cup goes better than his last one. He came into the 2018 World Cup still feeling the effects of a shoulder injury picked up in the Champions League final against Real Madrid and Egypt lost all three group games. They then failed to qualify for the World Cup in Qatar in 2022.
Mohamed Salah starts and captains Egypt - Fran Santiago/Getty Images
07:03pm
What a final result in Atlanta! World Cup debutants Cape Verde have managed to get a point of defending Euro champions Spain. You can follow all the reaction to that match right here .
07:01pm
Belgium:Courtois, Mechele, Meunier, Castagne, Ngoy, De Bruyne, Tielemans, Onana, Trossard, Doku, De Ketelaere.
Substitutes: Lammens, Penders, Theate, De Cuyper, De Winter, Seys, Witsel, Moreira, Vanaken, Saelemaekers, Raskin, Lukaku, Lukebakio, Fernandez-Pardo.
Egypt:Shoubir, Ibrahim, Hany, Fatouh, Ashour, Zico, Fathy, Lashino, Attia, Salah, Marmoush.
Substitutes: Elshenawy, Soliman, M. Alaa, Abdelmaguid, Rabia, Abdelmoneim, Hafez, T. Alaa, Donga, Saber, Trezeguet, Abdelkarim, Hassan, Adel, Zizo.
06:57pm
The 34-year-old swapped Manchester City for Napoli last summer and helped the Italian side to second in Serie A last season, contributing five goals and two assists in the league.
Kevin De Bruyne starts for Belgium - Fran Santiago/Getty Images
06:50pmKey moments
06:49pm
Group E:Ivory Coast 1 Ecuador 0
Group F:Sweden 5 Tunisia 1
Group G:Belgium vs Egypt 8pm
Group H:
Spain 0 Cape Verde 0 (88')
Saudi Arabia vs Uruguay 11pm
Debutants Cape Verde are on the verge of a big shock against Spain, with that game still level at 0-0 late on.
06:47pmKey moments
06:45pm
06:43pmKey moments
Belgium and Egypt's World Cup campaigns begin in Seattle in the opening game of Group G, with the now former Premier League stars Kevin de Bruyne and Mohamed Salah hoping to lead their respective nations to World Cup glory for the first time. Both have had incredible careers, winning trophies galore at club level, but neither to date have managed to get their hands on trophies with their countries. These sides have met four times previously, most recently in 2022, when Egypt won 2-1 in a friendly.
Belgium, led by Rudi Garcia, topped Group J in European qualifying, winning five and drawing three of their eight group games to stay unbeaten in booking their place in the tournament. They come into this tournament ninth in the world rankings. Having finished third at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, they then failed to get out of the group stages in Qatar in 2022, finishing third in Group F. They have prepared for this tournament with back-to-back wins in friendlies, beating Croatia 2-0 and Tunisia 5-0.
Kevin de Bruyne is now playing his club football in Italy with Napoli - Andrew Destin/AP
"We are going to focus on our strengths, we want ​to be protagonists," Garcia said ahead of the game. "We really need to go all-in tomorrow [today] as if ​it is the final. It [Egypt] is one of the best African ​squads of all time. All teams have weaknesses, we will see tomorrow [today] if we ​can exploit those weaknesses. It is step by step; get out of the group stage, but we want to finish top of the pool."
Egypt sailed their way through African qualifying for the World Cup, topping Group A by winning eight and drawing two of their 10 games to remain unbeaten through qualifying. They finished bottom of Group A in 2018 and failed to qualify for the tournament in Qatar in 2022. They beat Russia 1-0 and then lost to Brazil 2-1 in friendlies in preparation for the tournament. Earlier this year, Egypt's dreams of lifting the Africa Cup of Nations were ended at the semi-final stage, when they lost 1-0 to Senegal. They come into this tournament seeking their first-ever World Cup victory.
Mohamed Salah has played his final game for Liverpool a few weeks ago - Manu Fernandez/AP
Iran and New Zealand are the other two teams in Group G and they meet in Los Angeles in a few hours' time. Team news to follow shortly.
