SEATTLE (AP) — Romelu Lukaku’s entrance as a second-half substitute drew a standing ovation from the smattering of Belgium supporters.
It took only 23 seconds to turn those hopeful cheers into raptures of euphoria.
Lukaku’s presence sparked an immediate attack that led to Belgium’s lone goal against Egypt on Monday, helping to earn a 1-1 draw in the team’s opening World Cup match.
“He’s a target man,” Belgium captain Youri Tielemans said. “He needs to build up his fitness, which is understandable after being out for the season. But, he helps us in this way.”
Lukaku, a Napoli striker who leads his nation in goals scored, withdrew from Belgium’s friendlies in the United States in the spring to get fitter as he continues to recover from a hamstring injury. That injury didn’t look too bothersome in the 66th minute when he ran down the middle of the field moments after entering the game and lurched to tap a cross from the right into the net. Egypt defender Mohamed Hany got there first, however, and scored an own-goal to even the score.
With 66,775 spectators watching, the Egyptians took the lead early in the Group G match. Emam Ashour scored his first international goal in the 19th minute.
If not for Lukaku’s impact in the second half, Belgium easily could have dug itself into quite a hole in a group it is heavily favored to win, much as it did when failing to advance past the group stage at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Despite out-possessing Egypt, the Red Devils struggled to score all afternoon.
Midfielder Kevin De Bruyne came the closest for Belgium, pushing a shot wide left in the seventh minute before clanking another off the left post in the 53rd. Lukaku could have put Belgium in front late, too, but his header sailed far above the goal.
Belgium coach Rudi Garcia said because only 20% of his team’s shots were on target, netting one goal was a fair representation of their efforts. Still, Garcia would have preferred a faster start.
“We weren’t really in the groove,” Garcia said in French. “Technically, we left a lot to be desired.”
Egypt, meanwhile, were the more aggressive side in the first 45 minutes. Ashour, a midfielder who was playing in his 30th game for his country, took advantage of a defensive breakdown to give his team only its second lead in a World Cup match.
The Egyptians, who are playing in their fourth World Cup, have still never won a game at the tournament.
“The match shows we were closer to earning the win,” Egypt coach Hossam Hassan said in Arabic.
Belgium demonstrated it is still quite reliant on national team stalwarts like De Bruyne, Lukaku and goalkeeper Thibault Courtois, each of whom is playing in their fourth World Cup.
Winger Jérémy Doku, 24, kept his squad competitive in the first half, but the Red Devils were fortunate to only trail by one entering halftime.
“Our biggest challenge was about us. We lost too many balls, we weren’t quick enough in transition, and when we had the ball, we didn’t find the solutions,” Tielemans said. “We were too static, especially in the first half. In the second half, we created some chances, which — we could have won the game, but they had some chances as well.”
In Garcia’s opinion, Egypt and Belgium are the two best teams in Group G, which also features New Zealand and Iran.
“We have to win against Iran,” Garcia said of his team’s next match on Sunday. “There’s no two ways around it.”
