Tag: Belgium

Belgium and Egypt drew 1-1 in their World Cup opener on Monday after a second-half Belgian equalizer spoiled Mohamed Salah’s 34th birthday.

Emam Ashour opened the scoring early in the first half in Seattle, before Romelu Lukaku came off the bench after the hour to force Egypt’s Mohamed Hany into an own goal.

With the draw, seven-time Africa Cup of Nations champions Egypt’s wait for a first victory at a World Cup goes on.

This is their fourth participation in the global showpiece, and with Group G fixtures to come against Iran and New Zealand, they will hope to break that hoodoo in North America.

“We know Belgium are a good team, (they have) good quality players but we can’t say it was the hardest game or easiest game. Every game for us has got to be three points,” Egypt’s 18-year-old Barcelona forward Hamza Abdelkarim said.

For Belgium, who are now without a win in their last three World Cup matches, going back to their group-stage exit in 2022, this tournament is likely the last chance for the remnants of their golden generation to better their third-placed finish in Russia eight years ago and finally win silverware.

Veterans Kevin De Bruyne, Thibaut Courtois, and Lukaku are the main protagonists of that group still involved in Rudi Garcia’s squad.

“The opening match of a competition like the World Cup is always a tough one, especially against one of Africa’s top teams,” Garcia said.

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“We managed to equalize thanks to a player who came off the bench, which shows just how important the whole squad is.”

With all eyes in the Pacific Northwest on Salah and De Bruyne, it was the ex-Manchester City playmaker that created the first moment of note in the match when he dragged a sharp effort narrowly wide in the seventh minute.

However, it was Ashour who upstaged the pair just before the hydration break when he received the ball in a similar position to De Bruyne but his sweetly-struck effort left Courtois no chance as it whistled into the bottom-right corner.

It was just the second time in their history that Egypt had taken the lead in a World Cup match — after Salah opened the scoring in a 2-1 defeat to Saudi Arabia in 2018.

De Bruyne came within inches of levelling early in the second period when he whipped a close-range free-kick over the Egyptian wall, only to see it rocket off the outside of the post.

Salah responded at the other end as he ghosted into the box but had his downward header punched away by Courtois with Ashour getting his follow-up effort all wrong.

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The match became stretched as both sides came close on a couple of occasions, including a screaming left-footed volley by Belgian captain Youri Tielemans.

With 65 minutes gone, Garcia decided to send on Lukaku.

The change immediately paid dividends as Belgium’s all-time top goalscorer showed his predatory instincts to dash in on a Thomas Meunier cross, with his presence enough to destabilize Hany who put through his own net.

Salah departed the field with 15 minutes remaining as Egypt sought to shut up shop and ultimately held out for a point.

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Kevin De Bruyne scored a pair of penalties as Belgium boosted their bid to qualify for the World Cup with a crucial 4-2 win against Wales on Monday.

Rudi Garcia’s side trailed to Joe Rodon’s early opener at the Cardiff City Stadium.

But De Bruyne levelled from the penalty spot and Thomas Meunier fired Belgium ahead before half-time.

De Bruyne converted another penalty in the closing stages before Nathan Broadhead got one back for the hosts.

Leandro Trossard extinguished Wales’ hopes of a dramatic finish as Belgium moved to the top of Group J.

Belgium are one point clear of second-placed North Macedonia, who were held to a 1-1 draw by Kazakhstan on Monday.

They will be guaranteed to qualify if they win either of their remaining games against Kazakhstan or Liechtenstein in November.

The Red Devils haven’t lost a qualifier for the World Cup or European Championship in 46 games since Gareth Bale sealed Wales’ shock victory against them in 2015.

Wales sit in third place after squandering a chance to move a step closer to next year’s tournament in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

Craig Bellamy’s team are four points behind Belgium, with both sides having two games to play, while North Macedonia have one match remaining.

Belgium were held 0-0 at home by North Macedonia on Friday, a result that had put Wales’ World Cup destiny in their own hands.

Wales knew three wins from their last three matches would clinch a World Cup place.

But now they face a potential play-off route if they cannot overhaul Belgium, with a trip to Liechtenstein before a home game against North Macedonia.

“We knew we needed to win. We had momentum, but the penalty gave them a lift, and even the crowd died down,” Bellamy said.

“I have no complaints about the second penalty. But the first… what are we supposed to do with our hands? This is not sour grapes.

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“We didn’t deserve it at that time. We had to react, but they reacted better in that period. It’s no consolation, but let’s get the next six points.”

Wales were beaten 4-3 by Belgium in Brussels in June, with De Bruyne bagging the late winner.

Once again, the Napoli midfielder proved to be their nemesis.

Wales’ blistering start reaped a deserved reward in the eighth minute when Leeds defender Rodon exploited Belgium’s woeful marking as he rose to head home from Sorba Thomas’s corner.

But against the run of play, Belgium were handed a lifeline in the 18th minute.

Charles De Ketelaere’s long-range shot hit Ethan Ampadu’s arm in the area.

Ampadu hardly extended his arm away from his body, but Daniel Siebert awarded the penalty after consulting the pitchside monitor, and De Bruyne calmly stepped up to send Karl Darlow the wrong way from the spot.

If the visitors’ first goal was controversial, there was no debating the merits of their second in the 24th minute.

Thomas was caught napping as the irrepressible Jeremy Doku galloped into acres of space on the right flank to whip a low cross into the Wales area.

Meunier timed his run perfectly to guide a clinical finish past Darlow from an acute angle.

Bellamy had made a bold decision by dropping Brennan Johnson after his recent struggles, but, in need of inspiration after Belgium seized the momentum, he sent on the Tottenham winger in the 58th minute.

However, Johnson’s most notable contribution was to usher away a rat after it ran onto the pitch to briefly halt play.

As the rat left Wales’ sinking ship, Bellamy’s men were finished off in the 76th minute.

Jordan James needlessly handled Trossard’s flick in the area, and the nerveless De Bruyne again slotted home from the spot.

Broadhead’s 89th-minute finish from the edge of the area, after Kieffer Moore robbed Trossard, looked like it was setting up a tense finale.

But Trossard made amends seconds later as the Arsenal forward drilled home from Timothy Castagne’s cross.

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Belgium coach Domenico Tedesco named his squad on Friday that will take on Italy and France in the Nations League, with Manchester City star Kevin De Bruyne missing out due to injury.

The 33-year-old midfielder had left the question of his international future somewhat up in the air but told Tedesco that he would still be available for selection for the next two years.

“I had a long telephone talk with Kevin where, first of all, now he is injured but in general he is very motivated to continue to be with us and to play also the World Cup,” said the Italian coach.

“He asked me to be out for this camp and for the November camp to take care of his body.”

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Napoli star Romelu Lukaku’s name was also missing from the list of 23 as Tedesco decided to rest the striker and allow him “to work individually” as he settles into life in the southern Italian club, which he joined in late August.

Belgium will play Italy in Rome on October 10, before travelling to Brussels to face France four days later.

Squad: Goalkeepers: Koen Casteels (Al Qadsiah/KSA), Matz Sels (Nottingham Forest/ENG), Maarten Vandevoordt (RB Leipzig/GER)

Defenders: Sebastiaan Bornauw (Wolfsburg/GER), Timothy Castagne (Fulham/ENG), Zeno Debast (Sporting Portugal/POR), Maxim De Cuyper (Club Bruges), Wout Faes (Leicester/ENG), Matte Smets (Genk), Arthur Theate (Eintracht Francfort/GER), Koni De Winter (Genoa/ITA)

Midfielders: Charles De Ketelaere (Atalanta/ITA), Amadou Onana (Aston Villa/ENG), Orel Mangala (Lyon/FRA), Youri Tielemans (Aston Villa/ENG), Arne Engels (Celtic/SCO), Malick Fofana (Lyon/FRA)

Forwards: Johan Bakayoko (PSV/NED), Jeremy Doku (Manchester City/ENG), Dodi Lukebakio (Sevilla/ESP), Lois Openda (RB Leipzig/GER), Cyril Ngonge (Naples/ITA), Leandro Trossard (Arsenal/ENG)

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BRUSSELS: Netherlands’ Memphis Depay struck twice to earn his team a historic feat against the home side Belgium, who lost to the Dutch after 25 years, in the UEFA Nations League Group D match. 

The Barcelona striker Depay looked in a fierce form as Steven Bergwijn and Denzel Dumfries also shared the team’s thumping lead of four goals. Belgium retaliated with a lone goal by Michy Batshuayi in the extra time.

Belgium started aggressively and could have taken a lead early on if Timothy Castagne hadn’t hit the crossbar, but the tide turned towards the Netherlands when Belgian striker Romelu Lukaku was taken off after an injury.

Bergwijin netted the ball for the first time in the 40th minute of the game, rendering his opponents to a deficit before the halftime.

Netherland completely dominated the opponents in the second half as Depay hit home in the 51st minute. Dumfries also got into the action and kicked the ball into the net in the 61st minute, quickly followed by Depay’s second blow in the 65th minute to thrash Belgium out of the game.

Netherlands will now be playing against Poland and Wales-the other two teams in Group D- after starting their UEFA Nations League campaign on a high note.

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