Written by Ziad Abdel Fattah:
Imam Ashour gave Egypt an early advantage after scoring First goal In the net of the Belgian national team during the 20th minute of the match held at the «Lomen Field» stadium in Seattle, USA, as part of the first round of Group G in the 2026 World Cup.
Egypt vs. Belgium match: Imam Ashour gives the Pharaohs the advantage
The national team entered the match with a lineup that included Mostafa Shobeir in goal, and in front of him Mohamed Hany, Hamdi Fathi, Yasser Ibrahim and Ahmed Fatouh in the defense line, while in the midfield were Marwan Attia, Mohannad Lasheen and Emam Ashour, behind the attacking trio of Mostafa Zico, Mohamed Salah and Omar Marmoush.
On the bench were Mohamed El Shenawy, Mahdi Soliman, Mohamed Alaa, Tarek Alaa, Karim Hafez, Mohamed Abdel Moneim, Ramy Rabia, Hossam Abdel Meguid, Nabil Emad Dunga, Mahmoud Saber, Mahmoud Hassan Trezeguet, Ahmed Sayed Zizo, Ibrahim Adel, Haitham Hassan, and Hamza Abdel Karim.
In contrast, the Belgian national team started the match with a formation led by goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, with Castagne, Brandon Mechele, Nathan Ngoyi and Thomas Meunier in front of him, while the midfield included Amadou Onana, Youri Tielemans and Kevin De Bruyne, while the attack was led by Leandro Trossard, Jeremy Doku and Charles De Ketelaere.
Today's match holds special significance as it marks the fifth encounter between the two teams. In their four previous meetings, Egypt has won three matches compared to Belgium's single victory, with the Pharaohs scoring seven goals and conceding four.
The biggest result of the direct confrontations between the two teams remains Egypt’s 4-0 victory in the friendly match that brought them together in 2005, while Emad Moteab tops the list of scorers in the matches between the two teams with two goals.
The Egyptian national team is participating in the World Cup finals for the fourth time in its history, after securing qualification following a strong run in the African qualifiers, which it finished as the leader of its group without any defeat, benefiting from the experience of its international players and the strength of its defensive system.
The national team had played two friendly matches in preparation for the World Cup, winning against Russia 1-0 in Cairo, before losing to Brazil 2-1 in the United States.
