Belgium narrowly salvaged their embarrassing start FIFA World Cup Romelu Lukaku’s immediate impact campaign led to a 1-1 draw against Egypt in a tense Group G encounter on Monday.Starring the Red Devils in shock defeat, Lukaku came off the bench to score the equalizer within 23 seconds of his introduction, helping Belgium avoid a major upset in front of 66,775 spectators.
Lukaku changes the game in just 23 seconds.
The Napoli striker, returning from a hamstring injury that has sidelined him for most of the season, received a standing ovation from the Belgian fans when he entered in the 66th minute. Moments later, he charged through the middle and stretched to meet a cross from the right. Egypt defender Mohamed Hani put the ball into the net first but inadvertently deflected it into his own net, canceling Egypt’s first strike.“He’s a target man,” said Belgium captain Youri Tillmans. “He needs to build up his fitness, which is understandable after being out for the season. But, he helps us that way.”Belgium’s escape prevented a repeat of the disastrous start to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar before their group stage exit.
Egypt threatened the biggest surprise.
Egypt looked the better side in the opening period and took the lead in the 19th minute through Imam Ashour, who capitalized on a defensive error to score his first international goal on his 30th appearance.The Pharaohs played with aggression and intensity, causing frequent problems for the Belgian defense and coach Rudi Garcia’s men trailing by just one goal at the break.Egypt coach Hussam Hassan said that the match showed that we were close to victory.Despite enjoying more possession, Belgium lacked fluidity and struggled to create clear-cut chances. Kevin De Bruyne Came close before half-time with a shot that went wide and later rattled the left post in the 53rd minute.Lukaku completed the turnaround himself late on, but his header went over the crossbar.
Veterans come to Belgium’s rescue.
The draw highlighted Belgium’s continued reliance on veteran stars such as De Bruyne, Lukaku and goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, all appearing in their fourth World Cup.Winger Jeremy Ducou provided much of Belgium’s attacking spark in the first half, but the team lacked urgency and movement.“Our biggest challenge was about ourselves,” Tielemans admitted. “We lost a lot of balls, we weren’t quick enough in transition, and when we had the ball, we didn’t find solutions. We were very solid, especially in the first half.”Coach Garcia echoed those concerns.“We weren’t really in a groove,” Garcia said. “Technically, we left a lot to be desired.”Just 20 percent of Belgium’s attempts were on target, leading Garcia to conclude that the lone goal was a fair reflection of his team’s performance.The Belgian manager is nonetheless optimistic and even named Belgium and Egypt as the strongest sides in Group G, which also includes New Zealand and Iran.With the focus now on Sunday’s clash against Iran, Garcia has made his expectations clear.He said that we have to win against Iran. “There are no two ways around it.”
