BELGIUM lost 2-1 to Egypt in their pre-World Cup with the Pharaohs.
Mohamed and Trezeguet scored the goals for the African team before Openda got a beaten one.
Follow all the action with our blog below. . .
Goodbye Kuwait!
Belgium’s morale took a hit after struggling to beat Egypt and being defeated by two single goals.
De Bruyne is guilty of Egypt’s first game when he profitably lost the ball on the edge of his own penalty area, but the ease with which Egypt scored their moment will be more worrying.
The Reds have struggled to protect themselves against the speed of the Pharaohs’ front line all afternoon and that can be a challenge when they face Alphonso Davies (if he recovers from the injury in time) in Group F.
Roberto Martinez’s side gave the impression of lacking a focal point up front in the absence of Romelu Lukaku, who faces his own physical warfare ahead of Belgium’s first match of the organization on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Egypt regained some pride after a play-off loss to Senegal in February denied them a place in Qatar.
They followed their game plan to perfection as they sat down and absorbed the Belgians before launching into the counterattack.
Egyptian players can now enjoy their 6-week break before the domestic season resumes after the World Cup.
Roberto Martinez’s team is the favorite to finish in the most sensible of its group, ahead of Canada, Morocco and Croatia.
In fact, they will want their performance today if they want to achieve their aspirations in Qatar, starting with this game against Canada on Wednesday.
Until then, all I have left is thank you for joining me and I will contact you next time!
absence of Lukaku
Belgium seemed to be missing its star striker today.
Lukaku has only played twice since August due to a muscle injury.
Batshuayi is a volunteer deputy who lacks the quality and presence of his compatriot.
Martinez hopes Lukaku can get rid of his injuries in time for Belgium’s organization’s first match against Canada on Wednesday.
alderweireld
The former Spurs and Ajax player had a tricky game as his lack of rhythm exploded several times through the speedy Trezeguet.
He still has the 40-yard crosses in his locker, but the 33-year-old might be starting to show his age.
Elneny
Mohamed Elneny had played a total of four minutes of football since injuring his thigh while playing for Arsenal in August.
He was there just today and showed genuine composure with the ball, connecting the Egyptian defense with their exciting forwards.
The 90 minutes he played today will have made Arsenal’s medical branch sweat, but he emerged unscathed and will be available to Mikel Arteta when the Premier League restarts after the World Cup.
Confidence at half-mast
The Reds were expected to emerge as comfortable winners against a team ranked 37 behind them in the FIFA rankings.
The pressure will fall on Belgium and Roberto Martinez to present much greater functionality against Canada in their first hosting match on Wednesday.
They were very careless in ball ownership in this game and Egypt simply eliminated them at half-time.
Work to be for Roberto Martinez.
Full time: Belgium 1 – 2 Egypt
90, pipe! Pious! Peeeeeep!
The referee blows the final whistle and Egypt did enough to win this match!
We’ll have all the post-match reactions after that.
Belgium 1 – 2 Egypt
90, It’s not like you see a team looking to hold the ball in the corner during a friendly match.
But this result would be remarkable for Egypt, after failing to qualify for the World Cup.
Belgium 1 – 2 Egypt
90, Egypt wins a loose shot down the left wing.
Just what the pharaohs did to relieve some of the tension to which they were subjected.
Belgium 1 – 2 Egypt
90, there will be an additional 4 minutes at the end of this game.
Can Belgium locate a hope-boosting backlog?
Belgium 1 – 2 Egypt
87, Two More Adjustments for Pharaohs
This possibility is Salah’s last involvement in the adjustment, as he replaced him through Koka.
Vitoria brought Emam Ashour at Trezeguet’s expense.
Belgium 1 – 2 Egypt
86, So to Salah!
He receives the ball on the edge of the penalty area but sends his shot just past the post for now.
Courtois running across the board: I’m not sure he would have hit him if Salah’s shot had hit the target.
Belgium 1 – 2 Egypt
86, Doku believes his team has received a corner, but the referee issues a shot on purpose after Hamad’s tackle.
Replays show that the Belgian replacement is right to feel aggrieved.
Belgium 1 – 2 Egypt
85, the arrival of Doku moved Carrasco to a more central attacking position.
The Atletico Madrid winger warned today and most of Belgium’s attacks fell on his side.
Belgium 1 – 2 Egypt
82, Martinez makes a replacement when Jeremy Doku is brought in at the expense of Timothy Castagne.
Only 10 minutes to get there.
Belgium 1 – 2 Egypt
80′, Mertens sees a shot stopped by El Shenawy, but the flag would have been raised for offside if the Belgian striker had discovered the back of the net.
Belgium 1 – 2 Egypt
79, This former Vertonghen-Alderweireld axis brought here a combination for Belgium.
There was a time when they were arguably the most productive defensive partnership in the Premier League.
We will have to see how they do here.
OBJECTIVE! Belgium 1 – 2 Egypt
75, Openda one for Belgium!
The Lens striker found himself unmarked in the penalty spot through a Carrasco cross from the left.
Openda made no mistakes with their finish when they lifted the ball beyond the goalkeeper’s reach and into the roof of the net.
We have an exciting last 15 minutes!
Belgium 0 – 2 Egypt
In the 73rd, Rui Vitoria also opted for his first substitution as author of the first Egyptian goal, Mostafa Mohamed, replaced by Hussein El Sayed.
Belgium 0 – 2 Egypt
71, Roberto Martinez made two more adjustments replacing Hazard and Theate with Meunier and Vertonghen.
Belgium 0 – 2 Egypt
68, Tielemans sends a shot over the crossbar from the edge of the penalty area.
Replays showed he passed Castagne, who had no faults if his run had been detected.
Belgium 0 – 2 Egypt
65, Hazard produced his moment still.
The Real Madrid player goes around to gain a meter to his marker on the left wing and despite everything sends a low ball to the goal.
The cross goes through the entire box through six meters, you just had to touch it.
Belgium 0 – 2 Egypt
62. Here we have a brief break while Mohamed menda in the field and asks for a physio.
It was fixed in the center circle thanks to a challenge from Axel Witsel.
It looks like it’s going to be okay to continue.
Belgium 0 – 2 Egypt
60′ Trezeguet repeats!
I can copy and paste that now. . .
Salah discovered area in midfield and tried to put Trezeguet in the Belgian defence.
But the Liverpool guy simply goes beyond the pass: Egypt threatens to score a third here.
Belgium 0 – 2 Egypt
58, Openda asks for penalty after lowering the tension of the Hegazy box.
There seemed to be a lot of touch and the referee dismissed his appeal.
Belgium 0 – 2 Egypt
56, Salah back.
Theate gave the impression of having lost in a 50/50 on the right wing but a poor touch from Salah allowed the defender to strip him.
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