SEATTLE – Belgium and Egypt started their World Cups together in front of a packed house under the Seattle sun on Monday afternoon. The two national teams find themselves in very different circumstances at this moment in time, but there are similarities in the narratives surrounding both sides. In an interesting way, the 1–1 result and the way it came about simultaneously played into those narratives and provided some curious counterpoints.
Although in differing ways, these two teams have long been defined by generational talents. For Belgium it’s been a perceived, persistent underperformance from their "Golden Generation" that included players like Eden Hazard, Dries Mertens, and Vincent Kompany, along with a handful of players still in the team for what is expected to be one final go of it at this World Cup. For those remaining Belgian stars, it’s an opportunity for a sort of redemption balanced with a transition to a new crop of Belgian talent.
Andrew Clausen
Across from them is an Egypt team that has largely lived and died with the performances of Mohamed Salah, which hasn’t translated into trophies but has still worked out pretty well. The long-time Liverpool man has been one of the world’s best players as he’s moved ever closer to the all-time scoring record for Egypt and helped his club to lift just about every trophy on offer. The team has long been about as heliocentric as can be, but under new head coach Hossam Hassan – the current holder of Egypt’s scoring record with two goals more than Salah’s tally – there is more attention on the team as a whole.
Tim Ostlund-Foss
That Egyptian approach bore fruit on the game’s opening goal, as Salah picked out a nice pass through the heart of Belgium’s team to find Al-Ahly attacker Emam Ashour making a central run from the left wing for the assist in the 19th minute. While Salah’s pass was a good one, showcasing the elite vision and technical ability he has to offer, the goal was all about Ashour in a microcosm of Egypt’s idealogical approach. His touch to set himself up and the shot from the top of the arc, 20 yards out, were a reminder that quality can be found everywhere, not just in Europe’s top-5 leagues.
Throughout the game Egypt did well to limit how much genuine threat Belgium created while still getting into position for a second goal often enough to feel like they could have come away with the win. Salah was credited with the most chances created for Egypt with 3 – level with Leandro Trossard and Youri Tielemans for the most in the game – but deployed as the No. 10, he was hardly the team’s focal point, amassing only 35 touches as the attack was focused more on the wing. For context, only six Egyptian players had fewer touches – the five substitutes and Omar Marmoush, who played 90 minutes leading the line. Ashour, the goal scorer, was a problem on the wing for the entirety of his 71 minutes on the field and got a great chance to grab Egypt a second goal, but put in a woeful shot from less than 10 yards out that resulted in a throw in.
For Belgium, two members of that golden generation were in the starting lineup with Kevin De Bruyne starting at the 10 and Laurent Courtouis in goal. Courtouis may have gotten beat on the goal, but made a pair of saves including a reaction save to deny Salah on what looked for a moment like a sure goal from a header in the second half. De Bruyne was good if not great, creating a pair of chances and putting a shot on goal, but his finest moment was a free kick that he hit off the post.
The equalizing goal ultimately goes down as an own goal, but it was created by two other members of Belgium’s "Golden Generation." Romelu Lukaku came off the bench and arguably deserves the bulk of the credit for that ball ending up in the back of the net, as his first involvement in the match was to make a run right through the center of the box, forcing two defenders to bracket him trying to keep him from getting a touch. In the end he didn’t need his touch as his move forced right back Mohamed Hany – who outside of this moment spent most of his time locking up Jeremy Doku – into a poke that sent the ball beyond goalkeeper Mostafa Ahmed Shobeir. While Lukaku is clearly in the final phase of his career, the other player involved in the goal for Belgium is another player from his cohort, albeit a less heralded one, in fullback Thomas Meunier, who provided the pass on the play.
While this performance didn’t exactly provide definitive proof that Belgium are ready to beat the underachiever allegations, it did show that the team is capable of being more than their aging stars. That’s especially true if they can either unlock Jeremy Doku and get more of the sorts of performances he often put on for Manchester City this past season, or make use of the space that is opened up by the attention opponents have to pay to him.
For Egypt, we saw a team that had a credible chance to claim their first ever World Cup win against what is likely to be their toughest test in the group. Particularly following the match between Iran and New Zealand, they should feel good about their chances of claiming that historic victory and potentially advancing out of the group. While moments of magic from Salah and Marmoush would certainly help in making those possibilities into realities, the opener showed that the team mentality and domestic talent is capable of stacking up against what the rest of the world has to offer.
