Belgium and Egypt have confirmed their starting teams as both teams begin their 2026 World Cup campaigns in Seattle on Monday.
The Red Devils are seeking redemption after being knocked out in the group stage at the 2022 World Cup, having reached the final four in 2018.
Record seven-time Africa Cup of Nations winners Egypt are seeking their first victory in a World Cup match at the eighth attempt.
The match is the first to take place in Group G, which continues with Iran facing New Zealand in Los Angeles on Tuesday (02:00 BST).
All set in Seattle. 🇧🇪 pic.twitter.com/NwA7q2n31R
— Belgian Red Devils (@BelRedDevils) June 15, 2026
World Cup 2026: Belgium confirmed team vs Egypt
Romelu Lukaku, who is Belgium’s all-time leading goalscorer with 90 goals from 126 caps, could make his first competitive international appearance for more than a year after a season beset by injuries including a long-term hamstring problem. He starts on the bench.
Belgium starting XI: Courtois; Mechele, Meunier, Castagne, Ngoy; De Bruyne, Tielemans, Onana; Trossard, Doku, De Ketelaere
Belgium substitutes: Lammens, Penders, Theate, De Cuyper, De Winter, Seys, Witsel, Moreira, Vanaken, Saelemaekers, Raskin, Lukaku, Lukebakio, Fernandez-Pardo
World Cup 2026: Egypt full line up vs Belgium
Nice centre-half Mohamed Abdelmoneim is also on the bench after making his international comeback from a long-term knee injury in Egypt’s 1-0 friendly win over Russia in Cairo on May 28.
Mohamed Salah missed two games with a hamstring issue for Liverpool last month and was rested for the first three of Egypt’s four warm-up matches before coming on at half-time in the 2-1 defeat to Brazil in Cleveland on Sunday.
Egypt starting XI: Shoubir; Ibrahim, Hany, Fatouh; Ashour, Zico, Fathy, Lashin, Attia; Salah, Marmoush
Egypt substitutes: Elshenawy, Soliman, M Alaa, Abdelmaguid, Rabia, Abdelmoneim, Hafez, T Alaa, Donga, Saber, Trezeguet, Abdelkarim, Hassan, Adel, Zizo
Where to watch Belgium vs Egypt: TV channel, live online stream
Kick-off on Monday is at 20:00 BST (15:00 ET / 12:00 PT). In the UK, live coverage is on BBC One.
Fans can stream the action on a vast range of devices through the BBC iPlayer app and BBC Sport website.
World Cup 2026: Belgium vs Egypt stats
- Belgium are making their 15th World Cup appearance; no European team has qualified for as many tournaments without winning the trophy
- They have progressed past the first round in seven of their last nine World Cup appearances – the exceptions were in 1998 and 2022
- A 2-0 defeat to Morocco in 2022 is Belgium’s only defeat in their last 15 group games at the World Cup (W8 D6)
- Jeremy Doku completed 47 dribbles during qualifying – 20 more than any other player – with his tally of 110 touches in the opposition box being at least 42 more than any other European player during the qualifiers
- Thibaut Courtois has played 15 World Cup matches (7 clean sheets), which is the outright third-most of any Belgian player and two shy of Enzo Scifo’s record of 17 (Jan Ceulemans is second, with 16)
- This will be Rudi Garcia’s first World Cup as head coach. Named in January 2025, the Frenchman is the fourth non-Belgian to take charge of the team at a World Cup, after Jack Butler (1938), Doug Livingstone (1954) and Roberto Martinez (2018, 2022)
- Egypt are making their fourth appearance at the World Cup after 1934, 1990 and 2018
- Only Honduras (9) have played more World Cup games without a win than Egypt
- The only time Egypt have ever led in a World Cup match was against Saudi Arabia in 2018, when Mohamed Salah scored the opening goal in a 2-1 defeat
- The Pharaohs finished qualifying unbeaten (W8 D2) for the second time, after 1934, when they played two qualifying matches (7-1 and 4-1 vs Palestine)
- Salah was the top scorer (9) and top assister (3) for Egypt during qualifying, being directly involved in 60% of Egypt’s goals
- Hossam Hassan is at his first World Cup as head coach, is Egypt’s all-time top scorer (69 goals, one ahead of Salah) and played in all three of his team’s matches at the 1990 World Cup
