First-Ever World Cup Game In Seattle Ends 1-1 Between Belgium and Egypt

By Niko Antoun

The long-awaited World Cup debuted in Seattle on the afternoon of June 15th, treating the PNW to action from the world’s biggest competition. Egypt’s Mohammed Salah and Omar Marmoush started on the pitch of Seattle Stadium against a team of Belgian superstars, like Kevin De Bruyne and Thibaut Courtois. The match ended in a tightly contested 1-1 game in front of a crowd of 66,775, and the closing minutes felt like either side could have taken the three points.

Egypt entered their 2026 World Cup opener with the strong aspiration to prove themselves to the world, and the team showed up with a stellar performance. Belgium went into this match as the favorites over Egypt, as the Egyptians knew that they would be in for a challenging competition.

“It’s a shame we didn’t keep a clean sheet,” said Belgium’s Brandon Mechele, translated from Dutch. “We tried to be a threat on set pieces, we created chances, but it’s a shame they didn’t go in. We tried to play football with a bit more intensity.” Mechele went on to talk about the overall performance and feeling given the result, saying “I wouldn’t say I’m disappointed. At first, we were maybe a bit too soft in the duels … But the second half had much more fire in it. Much more aggressive, much more pace on the ball.”

Photo: Aimee Worthington / Area Sports Network

The feelings were similar on the Egyptian side, where goalscorer Emam Ashour said, translated from Arabic, that conceding the equalizer “was a terrible mistake.” Though getting a result against a strong team such as Belgium is generally a positive outcome, however Ashour said “we really needed to win. We should have scored the second and third (goal).”

Belgium started the first ten minutes with most of the momentum, keeping the ball mostly in Egypt’s half, and eventually Kevin De Bruyne fired the first warning shot near the goal. However, throughout the match, Egypt kept their composure and overcame the Belgian press to control significant intervals of the game.

Egypt delivered their hard work at the 19th minute, courtesy of Emam Ashour, who beat Thibaut Courtois to his bottom-right corner and scored the first-ever World Cup goal in Seattle. The proud and passionate Egyptian supporters and players burst into celebration as their country took control of the scoreline and cooked up an upset. Egypt found a few more opportunities after relieving the Belgian press in their final third, almost finding another goal from an opportunity from a corner.

Egypt took the one-goal lead into halftime after an intense 45 minutes, getting closer to a first-ever World Cup victory. As the second half kicked off, Egypt continued their push against Belgium and found another promising opportunity deep in the Belgium box. As the second half progressed, Egypt, at that point, began to look like the clearly stronger team in this match.

Photo: Aimee Worthington / Area Sports Network

The equalizer came at the 66th minute off a cross, where Egypt’s Mohamed Hany had the last touch into his own net. Despite going down as an own goal, Romelu Lukaku’s presence in the box was the direct cause of the equalizer. Lukaku substituted onto the pitch shortly before the equalizer, right after a close Marmoush chance on the opposite side of the pitch.

Belgium almost found a winner in the final ten minutes, where, after a free kick into Egypt’s box by Kevin De Bruyne, Belgium sent the ball back into the box, and Brandon Meleche found a close-ranged free header and forced goalkeeper Mostafa Shobeir to a fantastic save on his left-hand side. The game felt box-to-box around these closing minutes of the match, and it was certainly a game that would have made a perfect knockout match where extra time is possible.

“I think our biggest challenge was about us, we lost too many balls, we weren’t quick enough in transition and when we had the ball, we didn’t find the solutions,” said Belgium defensive-midfielder Youri Tielemans, after the match. “We were too static, especially in the first half, and then the second half we created some chances, which we could have won the game. But they had some chances as well, so yeah, I think one-all was a fair point.”

Photo: Aimee Worthington / Area Sports Network

Ashour was proud of his team’s overall performance, despite feeling like his side should have won the match: “We really lifted the fans’ spirits with the wonderful performance … We really wanted to make them happy, but I’m sure they’re pleased with the draw."

Egypt Manager Hossam Hassan said after the match that “all the players, led by Mohammed Salah, performed very, very well. They excelled in some of the attacking plays and fast transitions. With a bit more focus on the opportunities we had, we could have done even better.”

Belgium will move their focus to Los Angeles Stadium to face Iran, while Egypt will play New Zealand a few hours’ drive north at BC Place. Belgium’s base camp is in the Seattle area, but they have now played their only match at Seattle Stadium. Meanwhile, Egypt will return to Seattle for the final match day of the group stage to face Iran.

Cover Photo: Aimee Worthington / Area Sports Network