Egypt will be left sleepless in Seattle after missing several gilt-edged chances to record their first-ever World Cup victory.
Second-half substitute Romelu Lukaku made his presence felt just 22 seconds after coming on to force an Egypt mistake and own goal as Belgium came from behind to draw.
It came after Mohamed Salah and Co squandered several promising openings to extend their lead in Washington state, with Emam Ashour putting them ahead with a thunderous strike in the first half.
Romelu Lukaku made an instant impact to help Belgium fight back to draw against Egypt
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‘Bring Big Rom in the box’
Former France veteran Olivier Giroud might not be the most riveting pundit we have seen on our television boxes in the last week but when a striker with 137 caps and 57 goals gave half-time advice on how to score, maybe we should have listened.
It was simple: bring on Lukaku, or ‘Big Rom’ as he affectionately called him – and get him in the penalty area.
French manager Rudi Garcia took his time but listened and finally hooked the ineffective Atalanta No 9 Charles De Ketelaere on 66 minutes.
Just 22 seconds later, Garcia was celebrating his decision by racing up the touchline in his rather questionable attire of a red baseball cap with a shirt and tie.
Lukaku has had a nightmare season. After 14 goals and 11 assists in a Serie A title win for Napoli the year earlier, the former Chelsea, Manchester United and Everton man managed just 40 league minutes due to a thigh injury followed by a subsequent hip problem.
Class is permanent, though, and Lukaku’s anxiety-provoking presence saw defender Mohamed Hany forced to bundle the ball into his own goal for 1-1.
Lukaku was left furious with himself minutes later, though, as he found himself unmarked in the box but headed over.
Mohamed Hany put through his own net under pressure from Lukaku, moments after the forward came off the bench
Egypt rue failure to wrap up famous win
You could imagine the scenes around Egypt, from the metropolis of Cairo to the ancient port city of Alexandria and the localities around the Great Pyramids.
Yes, they would have gone berserk when Ashour rifled his effort past Courtois to open the scoring – but they would have also been cursing at multiple missed chances.
Given the nation had never won a World Cup match – they withdrew due to a storm in 1930, were knocked out in the first game in 1934 and managed just two draws in 1990 and 2018 – one should not underestimate this match.
Ziko, who plays for Pyramids FC, had two chances to extend their lead while Omar Marmoush raced through on goal only to rush his shot. Courtois was also caught in no man’s land at the end of the first half and should have been punished.
The wait goes on. Regardless of the ending here, they can take pride from their performance. With fixtures against New Zealand and Iran to come, Egypt will fancy their chances of finally breaking their duck on the grandest stage.
Emam Ashour had given Egypt a first half lead as they chased a maiden World Cup victory
Mohamed Salah, who turned 34 today, played as a No.10 for Egypt in a move that appeared to take Belgium by surprise
Birthday boy Mo in the middle
Hossam Hassan, a legend of Egyptian football as their all-time leading scorer as a player with a mega 177 caps, got his tactics spot on at both ends of the pitch.
Going forward, the manager asked Mohamed Salah to play as a No 10 rather than his usual right wing position. It seemed to flummox Belgium who did not react to it quickly enough.
In the central role, the free agent – formerly of Liverpool and on his 34th birthday – was able to flourish with plenty of touches and he popped up in dangerous areas time and again. He assisted Ashour’s rifled strike.
At the other end, Egypt doubled up on Jeremy Doku and kept the Manchester City man largely quiet, though his former club mate Kevin De Bruyne still looked the most dangerous player on the pitch.
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