Belgium 1-1 Egypt - Lukaku Saved the Team 22 Seconds After Coming On

Egypt was one half away from their first World Cup win in 92 years. Belgium was saved by a man who came off the bench and broke the match in 22 seconds.

Seattle, Group G, heat, stadium opening for World Cup 2026. Egypt took the lead on 19’: Mohamed Salah with the pass, Emam Ashour one-touch finish past Thomas Meunier’s legs and into the corner beyond Thibaut Courtois. Ashour’s first goal for the national team - and it was perfect.

Egypt led at halftime. For a country that had never won at a World Cup and had led in a match for a total of 29 minutes across all history, this was almost a fairy tale.

But Belgium had Romelu Lukaku.

66th minute - the striker comes on. 22 seconds later Meunier cross, Lukaku pressures Mohamed Hany - defender into his own net. 1-1. Own goal, but everyone knows who applied the pressure.

What else stuck:

• Kevin De Bruyne - post from a free kick on 53’
• Salah nearly added a second - Courtois saved, Ashour missed the empty net
• Lukaku almost scored with a header at the end - wide

Final score: 1-1. Egypt got their first point and the bitterness of “almost.” Belgium - relief and a question: where was the game for 65 minutes before Lukaku?

Courtois had a birthday on match day - not much of a gift. Salah proved again he carries more than Liverpool. And Lukaku reminded everyone: sometimes half a minute is enough to rewrite the headlines.

Next opponents in Group G - Iran and New Zealand. But this Seattle evening belonged to two numbers: 19 and 22 seconds.