COLOMBO (News 1st) - Seattle flung open the FIFA World Cup 2026 gates for the first time and for a long spell of this Pacific Northwest clash, Egypt were on the verge of creating history.Prior to this Group G opener, the Pharaohs had only ever led a World Cup match for 29 minutes, never tasted victory and only kept a lone clean sheet. They failed to crack the second and third marks but topped the first after a fine opener from Emam Ashour.On the day of his 34th birthday, the goal was scripted by Mohamed Salah and published emphatically by Ashour. The Al Ahly midfielder took one touch to set it up and swept a second through the legs of Thomas Meunier and past a diving Thibaut Courtois to send Egypt to the break with a slender lead.That was the 28-year-old’s first international goal and it took a man who is the second-highest European international goalscorer of all time to rescue a point for Belgium. Exactly twenty seconds after his second-half introduction, Romelu Lukaku strode into the box to meet a Meunier cross, with his presence leading Mohamed Hany to poke it past his keeper Mostafa Shoubir.
Source - FIFA
