World Cup false start averted
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Kevin de Bruyne and his Belgians averted a false start with a lot of effort and spoiled Egypt’s first victory in World Cup history. The team around the long-time world-class professional came back from behind to draw 1-1 (0-1) in Seattle and is already under pressure in the second game against Iran.
The Egyptians with outgoing Liverpool professional Mohamed Salah and ex-Frankfurt player Omar Marmoush missed out on historic success, but have the best prospects of progressing before the second group game against New Zealand. Emam Ashour (19th minute) scored in front of 66,775 spectators in the midday heat to give the North Africans the lead. The equalizer came with an own goal from Mohamed Hany (66th), who was heavily pressed in the middle by Romelu Lukaku, who had just been substituted.
Belgium’s rest of its golden generation around De Bruyne, Sturmtank Lukaku and the strong goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois are threatening the third difficult tournament in a row. The Red Devils were eliminated in the preliminary round of the 2022 World Cup. At the European Championships two years ago, the team ended in the round of 16 under the then coach Domenico Tedesco.
Tedesco’s successor, Rudi Garcia, stood in the blazing sun of Seattle in a dark blue cap and red tie, where, unlike in other places, the arena is not air-conditioned. In 30 degrees, Egypt was the more robust team and punished Belgium’s mistakes mercilessly. Ashour’s powerful shot hit the corner unstoppable for Courtois.
The 34-year-old Real Madrid goalkeeper even prevented a bigger deficit before the change. Courtois deflected a shot from Mostafa Ziko to a corner. Shortly before half-time, the goalkeeper blocked a low shot from the otherwise rather pale Marmoush, who now storms for Manchester City in the Premier League.
Belgium’s offensive efforts were static and imprecise. Star player De Bruyne was one of the most active in the attack line. Center forward Charles de Ketelaere, on the other hand, seemed lost, and the ambitious wingers Jeremy Doku and Leandro Trossard botched several promising goals. There was a good tournament atmosphere at the first of six games in Seattle, although neither Belgians nor Egyptians were represented in particularly large numbers. At the nearby port of the metropolis, the cranes were decorated with flags of the two nations.
De Bruyne hits the post for Belgium
After the break, coach Garcia initially left his team unchanged, although he had good options on the bench in Lukaku and ex-Hertha professional Dodi Lukebakio. Doku tried time and again to get towards the goal from the left, but his attempts mostly came to nothing. The most dangerous Belgian scene to date came from De Bruyne, who flicked a free kick onto the post (53′). On the other hand, Courtois was repeatedly challenged against the Egyptians’ fast counter-attackers. The world-class goalkeeper also defused a header from Salah.
Egypt was at times closer to making it 2-0 than Belgium was to equalizing. But then Lukaku came – and 23 seconds later the ball was in the goal. The massive striker pushed into the middle, where defender Hany directed a sharp cross into his own goal under pressure. Lukaku could have even secured a Belgian victory shortly before the end, but the beefy center forward’s header missed the goal.