Belgium and Egypt have never met in a competitive fixture, so their Group G opener on 15 June at Lumen Field in Seattle is genuinely new ground for both sides. Belgium arrive as tournament favourites, while Egypt are chasing their first ever World Cup win and, beyond that, their first exit from the group stage. A convincing Belgian victory would put early daylight between them and the rest of Group G, which also features Iran and New Zealand, though Egypt know that avoiding defeat here could change the mood of their entire campaign.
Rudi Garcia took charge of Belgium in January 2025 and Hossam Hassan has been Egypt's manager since February 2024 but the two have never faced each other. Hassan has built Egypt around an organised counter attacking game that kept them unbeaten through qualification, conceding possession and looking to release Salah or Marmoush into the space behind opposing full backs when they win it back.
Belgium arrive with back to back wins: they beat Tunisia 5-0 on 6 June after seeing off Croatia 2-0 three days earlier, keeping clean sheets in both qualifying matches. Egypt's recent record is patchier. They lost 2-1 to Brazil on 6 June, though they had beaten Russia 1-0 and drawn 0-0 with Spain before that. A 4-0 loss to Saudi Arabia in March looks like an outlier given the rest of their run and reaching the AFCON 2025 semi finals showed they can still organise and compete against strong opposition.
Belgium have no suspensions but a couple of fitness questions to manage. Jeremy Doku has had breathing issues in training and Zeno Debast carries a minor hamstring concern, though Thibaut Courtois, Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku are all fit and expected to start. Mohamed Salah's hamstring has been troublesome since the end of his club season and he is expected to play but he is unlikely to be at full sharpness, which is Egypt's main concern going in.
Garcia will probably set Belgium up in a 4-2-3-1, with Courtois behind a back four including either Thomas Meunier or Timothy Castagne at full back. Youri Tielemans and Amadou Onana anchor midfield with De Bruyne just ahead of them, flanked by Trossard and Doku and Lukaku up front. Egypt are likely to mirror that shape or shift to a 4-3-3, with El Shenawy in goal, Mohamed Hany and Ahmed Fatouh as full backs, Ibrahim, Abdelmonem and Rabia in central defence, Marwan Attia and Hamdi Fathi in defensive midfield and Salah captaining an attack that includes Omar Marmoush and Trezeguet.
Doku's pace in one on one situations is probably Belgium's most dangerous weapon going forward, with Lukaku winning headers and holding up play as a further outlet for De Bruyne's range. Egypt will defend in a mid block, concede the wide areas and look to release Salah or Marmoush into the space behind Belgium's full backs when they win it back. They held Spain scoreless for ninety minutes last month, so the approach is not theoretical.
De Bruyne against Attia, Lasheen and Fathi is essentially creativity versus structure and it is one of the more intriguing individual contests on the pitch. Doku going at Fatouh and Hany on the flanks will be another flashpoint, while Salah's duel with Theate and Mechele at the back could decide whether Egypt get anything going at the other end.
The two sides have only ever met in friendlies, where Egypt hold a narrow overall edge. Belgium won 3-0 in 2018 but lost 2-1 in 2022, with Egypt also winning 4-0 back in 2005. Given how much both squads have changed and the very different context of a competitive World Cup fixture, none of it is much of a guide here.
Belgium have the delivery quality at corners and free kicks to cause problems from dead balls and Egypt rely on their shape to frustrate rather than aerial dominance to deal with them. It is one more area where Egypt will be asked to absorb pressure rather than impose themselves.
Belgium 2-1 Egypt. De Bruyne and Doku should create enough chances to settle it before the hour and Salah will get one or two openings even in a game Belgium control, which is usually enough for a goal. That makes 2-1 the most likely outcome rather than a rout.
Ryan Baldi
Football Writer
Ryan Baldi is a professional football writer with years of experience and has been featured by respected outlets such as the BBC, The Guardian, Sky Sports, DAZN, FourFourTwo, ESPN, Yahoo Sport and Football365. He has also written several books including Arsène Who?.
