Belgium will seek to underline their credentials as Group G favourites when they open their World Cup campaign against Egypt in Seattle on Monday, but the Africans can draw confidence from victory when the sides last met and will hope a disciplined gameplan can frustrate one of Europe’s leading sides.
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Belgium arrive in North America among contenders to progress deep into the tournament despite being some way removed from the generation that delivered a third-place finish at the 2018 World Cup, the best result in the country’s history.
While Kevin De Bruyne, Romelu Lukaku and Thibaut Courtois remain key figures, coach Rudi Garcia has overseen a gradual transition towards a younger core led by Jeremy Doku, Amadou Onana and Charles De Ketelaere.
Belgium are expected to dominate possession, while Egypt defend deep and look to break through Mohamed Salah and Omar Marmoush.
Egypt are making only their fourth World Cup appearance and remain in search of a first victory at the finals after seven winless matches across previous tournaments.
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.
Monday’s match will also reunite Salah with Garcia, who coached the forward at AS Roma before his move to Liverpool.
Garcia acknowledged the threat posed by his former player.
“We have a huge amount of respect for the other three sides in our group,” Garcia told FIFA.com.
“This is what the World Cup is all about. We know Egypt well; they’re one of the best teams in Africa. I know all about Mo Salah as I coached him at Roma.”
Salah remains the focal point of Egyptian hopes and arrives eager to make his mark on the biggest stage after injury limited his impact at the 2018 World Cup.
Belgium have been mentioned as potential dark horses, but Garcia is reluctant to look beyond the group stage.
“Let’s start by respecting our group-stage opponents. Let’s beat them, finish top of the group, and then we’ll see how far we can go,” he said.
On paper Belgium possess greater quality across the pitch and will expect to begin their campaign with three points. Egypt, however, have little to lose and will back themselves to frustrate their opponents long enough for Salah and Marmoush to exploit openings on the counterattack.
Source: Khaleej Times