Lukaku rescues Belgium as Egypt opener ends 1–1

Lukaku saves the opener after Belgium stumble against Egypt

Romelu Lukaku was on the pitch 22 seconds before Egypt's Ahmed Hegazi turned the ball into his own net. Belgium 1–1 Egypt in the Group G opener in Seattle, and without that moment it could have been worse (1)(2)(5).

Your team were 1–0 down after a sluggish first half and the international press did not hold back. "Tame" was the word from the foreign media round-up, with outlets noting Belgium "will not quickly forget" this performance (1). Rudi Garcia's side lacked sharpness. "It was not sharp enough," the Belgian camp admitted afterwards (10).

Lukaku, 33, started on the bench but changed everything when he came on. One Belgian paper called him "Mister Impact", like a superhero name, and it fits (3). "He changes the match," French press wrote (9). "It is so good that we have him," a teammate said (12).

Thibaut Courtois kept things respectable at the back. He got a souvenir from the night, a reminder that Belgium still lean on the old guard (2).

Iran and New Zealand both drop points

Iran 2–2 New Zealand in the other Group G match, a result that keeps things wide open (6)(8). A former KV Oostende player secured Iran's point (8). Both are your next opponents, and neither looked untouchable.

The Iran camp were furious about the conditions afterward, calling it a "disaster" (4).

Fan-reaktioner

The mood online is not despair, it is chaos-lover energy. Belgium fans are lumping their result in with Brazil 1–1 Morocco and Spain 0–0 Cabo Verde as proof this World Cup belongs to nobody. One thread called it "absolute chaos" and the replies are more excitement than worry. Read the thread