Belgium drew 1-1 with Egypt on Monday in their first-round match at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, hosted by the United States, Mexico, and Canada.
The result was Egypt's third draw in their World Cup history, following draws with the Netherlands and Ireland at the 1990 World Cup in Italy.
The draw denied Egypt their first-ever victory at a World Cup, with the dream now deferred to their next match against New Zealand next Monday.
The result was also the third draw for Arab nations in the tournament at this round, following Qatar's draw with Switzerland and Morocco's draw with Brazil, both ending 1-1.
Belgium recorded their second draw against an Arab nation at the World Cup, having previously drawn 1-1 with Tunisia at the 2002 edition in South Korea and Japan.
Belgium failed to win for the third consecutive World Cup match, having lost to Morocco and drawn with Croatia in their last two games at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar — where they were eliminated in the group stage — with their last win dating back to the first round of that same tournament against Canada by a single goal.
Egypt took the lead in the 20th minute through Emam Ashour, before his teammate Mohamed Hany inadvertently put the ball into his own net to level the score for Belgium in the 66th minute.