Mohamed Salah Shines in Egypt’s World Cup Opener Against Belgium

Mohamed Salah, the captain of the Egyptian national team, kicked off his World Cup 2026 campaign with a starting role against Belgium in their opening group stage match on Monday evening.

The match ended in a 1-1 draw, with Egypt taking an early lead in the 11th minute through Imam Ashour, who capitalized on a crucial assist from Salah. Belgium equalized in the 66th minute with an own goal from Mohamed Hani.

Salah had a significant impact during the game, leading Egypt’s attacks and assisting the first goal before being substituted in the 76th minute for Hamza Abdel Karim.

According to SofaScore, Salah received a rating of 6.8 out of 10, reflecting his precise passing and offensive contributions throughout the match.

The Egyptian star provided the assist for Ashour’s opening goal and completed 17 accurate passes out of 18 attempts, achieving an impressive accuracy rate of 94%. He also took one shot on target but missed a clear opportunity to score.

During the match, Salah touched the ball 34 times, was fouled three times, lost possession on ten occasions, won three out of nine ground duels, and secured one aerial duel out of two attempts while committing two fouls.

With this result, Egypt earns a point from their opening match in the group stage, marking a strong start to their World Cup journey against one of the top teams globally.