Lukaku earns Belgium a point 22 seconds after coming on
Belgium salvaged a 1-1 draw against Egypt in Seattle only after Romelu Lukaku came off the bench and forced an own goal within 22 seconds. Egypt are still waiting for a first World Cup win.
- Belgium drew 1-1 with Egypt in Seattle in their opening group match.
- Romelu Lukaku came on in the 66th minute and forced an own goal within 22 seconds to level the score.
- Emam Ashour put Egypt ahead in the 19th minute, assisted by Mohamed Salah on his 34th birthday.
- Egypt are still without a single win in their World Cup history.
The Belgium bench in Seattle had been fidgeting for half an hour. Egypt were leading, Belgium had no idea what to do with the ball, and the manager kept glancing at one player who had stood up to warm up. When Romelu Lukaku finally stepped onto the pitch in the 66th minute, no one in the stands had even had time to sit back down. Twenty-two seconds later the ball was in the Egyptian net.
That was all it took. One substitution, one run in behind, one ball into the box, and an Egyptian defence tripping over its own feet. Own goal, 1-1, and the whole Belgian bench leapt up as if the goal had been scored in a final. Lukaku never even touched the ball for the equaliser, but his presence alone was enough to push the entire Egyptian line a step back and open the gap that cost them a point.
Until that moment the match had been heading in the opposite direction. Egypt went ahead in the 19th minute through Emam Ashour, with the assist coming from Mohamed Salah, and on his 34th birthday at that. Belgium looked heavy and short of ideas for much of the first half, a side waiting for something to happen on its own. It only happened once the manager changed the rhythm of the game from the bench.
How much was Lukaku’s cameo really worth?
The statistics say Lukaku did not score, but football is not played on numbers alone. The Napoli forward, who set up Thomas Meunier in the move before the equaliser, changed the whole structure of the attack in a matter of seconds. After he came on, Belgium had a reference point up front, someone who holds the ball with his back to goal and opens space for others. None of that shows up in the scorers’ column, but all of it shows up on the pitch.
For Egypt the story has a bitter taste. They led against one of the stronger European sides, controlled large stretches of the match, and were a step away from a historic result. Then they scored against themselves at the very moment they only needed to defend the lead calmly. Egypt thus extend a run that has lasted for decades, because this national team is still without a single win at the World Cup. A point against Belgium looks good on paper, but the dressing room surely feels there was much more on offer here.
What comes next for both sides?
Belgium have taken a point that looks more like a warning than a reason to celebrate. If a team of this quality has to wait until the 66th minute and Lukaku’s introduction to wake up, there is no room for complacency in the remaining group games. The manager has been handed a clear lesson: the attack without a genuine number nine looks toothless, and Lukaku, however old he gets, still changes matches simply by walking on.
Egypt move into the rest of the group with one point and the knowledge that they hosted their own near-defeat. That own goal could become the turning point of their tournament, in one direction or the other. Salah played the birthday match he wanted right up to the 66th minute, and then had to watch the point melt away.
The question that lingers after Seattle is a simple one: is Lukaku’s 22-second cameo a sign that Belgium have a hidden reserve for the whole tournament, or just proof that this side does not know how to win without him?
