Key Points
- Egypt and Belgium drew 1-1 in their World Cup Group G opener on June 15.
- Emam Ashour scored to put Egypt ahead.
- A Mohamed Hany own goal, under pressure from Romelu Lukaku, leveled it.
- Egypt missed a clear late chance at its first-ever World Cup victory.
Egypt and Belgium opened World Cup Group G with a 1-1 draw on June 15 — a result that felt like a win for Egypt right up until it didn't. Emam Ashour gave the Pharaohs the lead, and for long stretches they looked the better side against a Belgium team still searching for its rhythm. Then the game turned on the cruelest kind of goal.
How it unfolded
Ashour's strike put Egypt in front, but Belgium drew level when Mohamed Hany, scrambling to clear under pressure from Romelu Lukaku, turned the ball into his own net. An own goal is the kind of equalizer that deflates a team that has done everything right — and it shifted the weight of the match without Belgium having to truly earn it.
The chance that got away
Egypt has never won a World Cup match in its history, across appearances dating back to 1934, and on June 15 it had the opening to finally change that. Emam Ashour squandered a clear look with the Belgium goalkeeper grounded — the chance to retake the lead and break the duck. A first World Cup victory was right there; instead, Egypt walked off with a point and the familiar ache of what might have been.
The read
A draw with Belgium is no disgrace — it is, on paper, a good day for Egypt's group math. But the manner of it stings, because this was the rare World Cup match where the African side was the aggressor and the European power was hanging on. As we flagged in Monday's Games to Watch, this was the day's best undercard, two teams that each believe they can advance. Mohamed Salah's Egypt proved it belongs. It just hasn't yet proved it can finish.
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