Starting XIs of Belgium - Egypt
Belgium: Courtois - De Cuyper, Mechele, Ngoy, Meunier, Castagne - Onana, Tielemans - De Bruyne, Doku, Trossard, De Ketelaere
Egypt: Shobeir - Fattouh, Fathy, Ibrahim, Hany - Attia, Lasheen, Ashour - Ziko, Salah, Marmoush
Egypt make their World Cup debut on Monday, hoping to clinch a maiden win and qualify for the knockout stages for the first time in four participations. But standing in their way are Group G favourites Belgium, who rank among the tournament's outsiders.
Read moreWorld Cup 2026: All the fixtures
The Red Devils feature remnants of the "golden generation" that reached third place in 2018, including Kevin De Bruyne, Romelu Lukaku and Thibaut Courtois, though coach Rudi Garcia has overseen a gradual transition towards a younger core led by Jeremy Doku, Amadou Onana and Charles De Ketelaere.
They are expected to dominate possession, while Egypt defend deep and look to their two best players – forward Mohamed Salah and striker Omar Marmoush – to create scoring opportunities with fast breaks. The Pharaohs will take encouragement from the last meeting between the sides, when they claimed a 2-1 victory in a friendly in Kuwait in November 2022.
Read moreWorld Cup 2026: Group standings
Monday's match features the two strongest teams in Group G, which also includes Iran and New Zealand, meaning the game is not necessarily a must-win for either side.
