Egypt ended the first week of Group G of the 2026 World Cup in an unprecedented manner by stopping Belgium and Iran by drawing with New Zealand; where all four teams in the group were in completely equal conditions with one point and a zero goal difference. These results also led to the continuation of the unbeaten trend of Asian representatives in the early days of the World Cup; a trend that, from the perspective of observers, is a sign of the increasing power and self-confidence of Asian football on the world stage.
Publish dateTuesday 16 June 2026 - 10:34
Story Code : 358019
Afghan Voice Agency (AVA): The results of the first week showed that, contrary to many predictions before the start of the competition, Group G is not going to become a one-man show for Belgium. Egypt stood up to the star-studded European team with a regular and bold performance, and New Zealand was able to take points from Iran, so that all four teams in the group look forward to the continuation of the competition with equal hope. This unprecedented balance has already made the second week's matches look like an early final.
Egypt 1 - Belgium 1; Pharaohs on the verge of a surprise
In the first match of Group G, the Egyptian national team put on a brilliant performance against Belgium and went on the verge of achieving a valuable victory against one of the world's football contenders.
Belgium started the game offensively and created several dangerous chances on the Egyptian goal in the very first minutes, but it was the Pharaohs who scored their first serious attack in the eighth minute. Imam Ashour opened the scoring for Thibaut Courtois with a spectacular shot from behind the penalty area to give Egypt a 1-0 lead.
The Belgians then tried hard to make up for the loss, but Egypt's disciplined defense and Mustafa Shoubair's good reactions prevented the team from scoring in the first half.
In the second half, Rudi Garcia's team had more possession of the ball, but Egypt continued to appear on dangerous counterattacks. Finally, in the 66th minute, Mohammad Hani mistakenly opened the own goal to tie the game.
Despite attacks from both teams in the final minutes, the result did not change and the match ended in a 1-1 draw; a result that, although it saved Belgium from defeat, showed that Egypt can be one of the surprise winners of this tournament.
Iran and New Zealand share the points
In the other match in this group, the Iranian national team played against New Zealand and in the end achieved a 2-2 draw.
New Zealand twice took the lead against Iran through Elijah Just, but Amir Qalenovai's team came back into the game both times. Ramin Rezaian scored the first goal and Mohammad Mohebbi scored the second goal for Iran, so that the Asian representative earned a point from their first match.
Egypt 1 - Belgium 1; Pharaohs on the verge of a surprise
In the first match of Group G, the Egyptian national team put on a brilliant performance against Belgium and went on the verge of achieving a valuable victory against one of the world's football contenders.
Belgium started the game offensively and created several dangerous chances on the Egyptian goal in the very first minutes, but it was the Pharaohs who scored their first serious attack in the eighth minute. Imam Ashour opened the scoring for Thibaut Courtois with a spectacular shot from behind the penalty area to give Egypt a 1-0 lead.
The Belgians then tried hard to make up for the loss, but Egypt's disciplined defense and Mustafa Shoubair's good reactions prevented the team from scoring in the first half.
In the second half, Rudi Garcia's team had more possession of the ball, but Egypt continued to appear on dangerous counterattacks. Finally, in the 66th minute, Mohammad Hani mistakenly opened the own goal to tie the game.
Despite attacks from both teams in the final minutes, the result did not change and the match ended in a 1-1 draw; a result that, although it saved Belgium from defeat, showed that Egypt can be one of the surprise winners of this tournament.
Iran and New Zealand share the points
In the other match in this group, the Iranian national team played against New Zealand and in the end achieved a 2-2 draw.
New Zealand twice took the lead against Iran through Elijah Just, but Amir Qalenovai's team came back into the game both times. Ramin Rezaian scored the first goal and Mohammad Mohebbi scored the second goal for Iran, so that the Asian representative earned a point from their first match.
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