Belgium 1 Egypt 1
Belgium rescued their opening fixture of the FIFA World Cup with Egypt, playing their joker midway through the second half to bring instant dividends. A bullet of a finish from Emam Ashour had the impressive Egypt in the box seat, but with Belgium dominating in the second half, the introduction of Romelu Lukaku changed everything, the game level within a minute thanks to the powerful striker’s presence forcing an unfortunate own goal from Mohamed Hany. The biggest football match ever in Seattle (until Friday) couldn’t find a winner, despite Lukaku’s late free header, and the enthralled locals were left to remember a fabulous event at this impressive sporting arena.
You know you’re running on empty when you’re relaxing on the couch watching the end of the early morning game and you suddenly realise your game is the next one, not the one after. An emergency Uber into the centre of Seattle, a quick swap of tickets from the windowed, unexciting press box to a media seat amongst the fans, and this part-time journo was in front of the national anthems with moments to spare. No time to see anything of Seattle, no time to soak up the atmosphere that a 3pm game would have afforded, although the amount of free speech and Bible paraphernalia being handed out en route to Gate 5 was puzzling and completely against everything that FIFA normally allows.
The Egypt fans were in the south end of the stadium, a strip of Belgium fans at the foot of the bizarre triangled end at the north end, with a big pocket of fans up in the nosebleeds behind them. Contrary to those heady days of Qatar 2022, there was no air conditioning to help with the scorching sun, and both ends were completely exposed to the height of the midday sun. Egypt started brightly and looked as though they were matching their more illustrious opponents, and winning the physical duel. We had VAR overturn a corner after pleas from the Egyptian players, and Egypt took the lead soon after, Emam Ashour launching a screamer that hit the net before Thibaut Courtois could get down to it. The stadium loved it; the perceived underdog in the lead and the big European nation now chasing the game. Courtois saved his team soon after the drinks break, or “coaching break” as Rudy Garcia was to coin it in the press conference afterwards. The stadium screens showed the clock advancing through additional time, a welcome addition; honestly I’ve never understood why that’s not normal. There was still time for Nathan Ngoy to gift the ball to Egypt, but they couldn’t capitalise, and their players went to their knees at the break in prayer. The stadium was abuzz at half time, the concourse packed, the triangular end deserted as fans escaped the punishing sun.
Belgium had a great chance soon after half time, a free kick awarded on the edge of the area, and with the Egyptian players arguing about who was going to be the draught excluder, Kevin De Bruyne stepped up to smash the ball off the post for a thrilling moment. Egypt were under the cosh, but did break on occasion, their finishing wayward from low percentage efforts. Belgium stepped up the attack, Youri Tielemens shot just wide, De Bruyne should have scored seconds later from right in front; Egypt were hanging on. Ngoy somehow escaped a yellow card for leaving a foot in on Egypt goalkeeper Mostafa Shobeir, and the game was definitely in the balance.
Lukaku came off the bench, a huge roar greeting his appearance, and moments later he appeared in the area as Leandro Trossard’s cross was fixed in, and the ball ended up in the net courtesy of defender Hany who had tracked the big forward all the way. Lukaku raced to the halfway line, signalling his team’s intent for the rest of the game, but the second hydration break curtailed the enthusiasm.
The Belgium fans were in full voice, Trossard’s impeccable flick so close to unlocking the Egypt defence again and giving the Belgium fans up in the top section a reason to make noise. Barely an empty seat, the 66,775 attendance was impressive; the locals in the west stand started their own chant “Let’s go Belgium”, which was followed almost immediately by “Let’s go Egypt” – top marks for trying! Belgium had their chance to wrap up the win when Lukaku was free in the penalty area but headed tamely over the top. The Mexican wave had it’s one lap with two minutes remaining, Let’s Go Egypt rang out again in added time, but there was no winner today and we had to settle for a 1-1 draw, the two favourites getting the best result to go into the remaining ‘easy’ fixtures.
Quelle surprise, Emam Ashour got man of the match as the only scorer of the game in the right goal, maintaining the time-honoured tradition of the FIFA man of the match award going to the highest scorer, albeit not for the winning team.
The press conferences after the game were entertaining, if only for the US journalists describing San Jose Stadium in detail as we waited for Belgium coach Rudi Garcia and warning that fans get fried in that stadium. Garcia had no excuses, and indeed when asked about the temperature today, his clever response was that had they won, he would have told the truth, but as they didn’t, he didn’t want to give any excuses. Apparently the grass was very dry, the ball braking, and he had asked for it to be cut the day before to get it in prime condition. He knew they had to win this one, but being 1-0 down against Egypt made it difficult to come back into it, with them dictating the pace of the game. He was surprised by the number of cheap giveaways and admitted that they were bullied physically in the first half. Talking over a very noisy mixed zone in the background, he continued to say that if you only hit the target with 20% of your chances, it’s no shock to only score one goal.
Getting the FIFA translator app ready, the second press conference with Hossam Hassan was lively. He had promised to be aggressive, and he was grateful for the positive result. Thanking God, this result was not due to coincidences, it was two years of hard work, and they relied on the whole squad, not just individuals, to get this result. Hassan is clearly revered in Egypt, and he explained that with Belgium a nation of 11 million people and Egypt a nation of 120 million people, they needed to have ambition. He was thanked by his media, who asked why it was not the same for an Egyptian coach – a foreign coach would have been lifted on the players’ shoulders after this game, but as an Egyptian, he had the trust of the people and knew that it was football that they lived and breathed. He was already an AFCON legend, and he instilled in the players that it was their duty to perform for the team. Such is the format of these press conferences, a third-party usually dictates the number of questions asked, and there were still a dozen hands in the air when the last question was offered. That was about Hamza Abdelkarim, the new Barcelona signing, coach Hassan assuring his media that he will be a great addition to the Barcelona squad.
Normally a coach would leave by the back door, this coach stepped into media pack and enjoyed hugs and pats on the back. It almost felt like they wanted to kidnap him and ask all the questions they had not been able to ask, but he knew it was time to get out and left with a huge smile and even more respect from the Egyptian reporters.
This had been a marvellous spectacle. A stadium not unlike Lusail in Qatar where the last FIFA World Cup final took place, locals who clearly want football to succeed and a cracking atmosphere for an exciting football match between two very talented teams. The World Cup is here, everyone; despite what you wanted before the tournament began, this is going to be incredible. Get on board! Next fixture here is on Friday, the US hosting Australia in a game that has been given added spice by the home media. Don’t miss it.