Belgian striker Romelu Lukaku entered in the 66th minute and, in his first action, went to the shot and forced the own goal with which Belgium avoided defeat against Egypt.
Lukaku, the Belgian team’s all-time top scorer, came to the tournament after a season marked by physical problems with his club, Naples, and with the national team.
Egypt was superior for much of the first half and found the goal through Emam Ashour, who took advantage of a pass from Mohamed Salah on his 34th birthday to open the scoring.
Belgium barely generated any danger at that stage. Their clearest chance came with a free kick from Kevin De Bruyne that hit the post, while Thibaut Courtois sustained his team with a save from Zico’s cross shot.
The team led by Rudi García showed difficulties in associating in attack. Jeremy Doku tried to unbalance on both sides, but was unable to complete his actions. Leandro Trossard also had no impact and De Bruyne was the clearest player in the Belgian team.
In the second half, Belgium moved forward and began to play closer to the Egyptian area. Youri Tielemans tried with a volley and De Bruyne once again created danger from set pieces.
Rudi García sought more offensive presence with the entry of Lukaku. The forward responded immediately: he pressed the action, attacked the space and caused the defensive error that ended in Hany’s own goal. The tie came just before the hydration break and changed the development of the match.
Belgium was even able to take the victory with a header from Brandon Mechele in the final minutes, when Egypt had already brought on Hamza Abdelkarim, a Barcelona youth player, to replace Salah.
The result left both teams with a point at the start of their World Cup participation.