Mohamed Salah's Egypt denied first World Cup win after own goal earns Belgium a point

Mohamed Salah was denied the chance to celebrate his 34th birthday with a historic World Cup win for Egypt, as they were held to a draw by Belgium in Seattle. Emam Ashour’s first-half strike was cancelled out by an equaliser for the European side, 22 seconds after the introduction of Romelu Lukaku as a second-half substitute. Egypt have been champions of Africa seven times, more times than any other country, and yet their World Cup record is not befitting of that status. Never before had they won a fixture in three previous appearances at the finals. Few gave them a chance of breaking that duck in their 2026 opener against a Belgian side stacked with top talent. And yet the Egyptians were good value for their first-half lead. From the off, they were by far the more aggressive and forward-thinking of the two sides. They deserved the opener, when it arrived in the 20th minute, through Ashour. The 28-year-old Al Ahly playmaker found space outside the Belgium box, and drilled his shot low and hard past Thibaut Courtois, the Real Madrid goalkeeper. Having played all his career to date in his homeland – other than a brief stint at Midtjylland in Denmark – Ashour’s global renown is a long way off that of his colleagues in Egypt’s attack, Salah and Omar Marmoush. It did not stop him revelling in his moment of glory, though. He busted out a billionaire strut to celebrate the opener, before he was flattened by his equally thrilled teammate, Mostafa Ziko. Despite the constant threat they posed going forward, while the score stayed at 1-0 it was a precarious lead for Egypt. It felt particularly fragile when Kevin De Bruyne curled a free kick against the post near the start of the second half. Ashour had a glorious opportunity to double Egypt’s advantage shortly after, yet rashly shot wide. He had the goal at his mercy after Courtois had pawed away Salah’s header. He completely lost his poise, though, lashing in a shot that was so woeful it went out for a throw-in on the left-hand side of the field. Undeterred by their profligacy, Egypt kept pouring forward. Next, Marmoush raced through, only to blaze high and wide under desperate pressure from Nathan Ngoy, the retreating Belgian centre-back. Rudi Garcia, the Belgium manager, introduced Lukaku in a bid to help reverse the traffic. It worked immediately. Belgium were level within seconds of the arrival of their all-time record scorer. He did not get a touch to a right-wing cross, but his presence was enough to harass Mohamed Hany into scoring an own goal. It was harsh on Hany. The right-back had done a decent job in shackling Jeremy Doku, Belgium’s Manchester City winger. Salah looked crestfallen when he was substituted in the 76th minute. The noon kick-off in the middle of a heatwave in Seattle was taking its toll on everyone, and Salah’s impact had not been befitting of his stature. Though he looked glum at Hossam Hassan’s decision to replace him, he was not the only global star to take an early curtain call. On the other side, De Bruyne and Doku both made way a long way before the end of the game. Even after being withdrawn, Salah still had a role to play. In an emotional response to a rebuffed penalty appeal, Hassan, Egypt’s coach, put his arms around the fourth official. Salah, aware that escalation could spell expulsion for his coach, discreetly pulled Hassan away from the skirmish.

Mohamed Salah's Egypt denied first World Cup win after own goal earns Belgium a point

Emam Ashour's opener cancelled out after Mohamed Hany put through his own net

Best of World Cup 2026 – in pictures