Belgium came into its first World Cup 2026 match against Egypt as solid favorites (-170). However, after 90 minutes, the storied European nation is down 1-0 following a fantastic Emam Ashour with an assist from Liverpool superstar Mohamed Salah, who is celebrating his 34th birthday on gameday.
Ashour’s goal came in the 20th minute, as Salah found his attacking midfielder outside the 18-yard box. The 29-year-old, who plays professionally at Al Ahly in Egypt, then smoked a shot to the bottom left of the net, beating one of the best goalkeepers in the world, Belgium’s Thibaut Courtois.
EGYPT HAS ITS FIRST GOAL OF THE 2026 FIFA WORLD CUP!
Emam Ashour makes it 1-0 over Belgium! pic.twitter.com/IKIhKzAbXJ
— FOX Sports (@FOXSports) June 15, 2026
This game shaped up to be a mismatch, as Belgium is widely regarded as one of the historically best countries never to have won a World Cup, while Egypt is still looking for its first win in any World Cup. The Belgium squad is also loaded with players who play in the top leagues in Europe. Conversely, outside of Salah and Manchester City’s Omar Marmoush, most of the Egypt squad plays at home in the Egyptian Premier League.
If the results stand through the second half, it would put Egypt in an incredible position to advance to the Knockout Stage. The rest of Group G includes Iran and New Zealand, neither of which is a top side in this tournament. Because of this, though, Belgium would still have a good shot to go through to the next round.
Because of the expanded 48-team field, the top two teams from each group, as well as the eight next-best third-place teams, move on.
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