'Top-quality' Egypt not at World Cup to make up the numbers, coach says

The Pharaohs went ahead with a brilliant 20th-minute strike from Emam Ashour and were a handful for the Belgians throughout the match

FIFA World Cup 2026 - Group G - Belgium v Egypt - Fans gather in Cairo - Cairo, Egypt - Jun 15, 2026 A young Egypt fan displays a flag as he watches the match at the The Gezira Sporting Club in Cairo REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh

Egypt are not at the World Cup to make up the numbers and showed their potential and quality players in Monday's 1-1 draw with Belgium, coach Hossam Hassan said, after they came agonisingly close to their dream of a first win in the showpiece event.

The Pharaohs went ahead with a brilliant 20th-minute strike from Emam Ashour and were a handful for the Belgians, who levelled in the 66th minute when record scorer Romelu Lukaku, a little over 20 seconds after entering the game, forced an own goal from Mohamed Hany.

"I'm not the one to talk about Egypt's stature. The players are top quality, and we have two of the best players in the world with us. They give us motivation," he said of captain Mohamed Salah and striker Omar Marmoush.

"We are definitely not here just to make up the numbers. The win was in our hands today."

Playing in their fourth World Cup, Egypt are chasing their best-ever showing and got their campaign off to an impressive start in Seattle, registering 14 goal attempts and going toe-to-toe with one of the top-ranked sides.

"This was our priority, our number one focus. We were not thinking about anything else," Hassan said.

"But the draw is a win actually, a draw against such a rival, a big rival. They have big, big players."

Salah, Marmoush 'Ferocious' For Pharaohs

Hassan defended his decision to substitute captain and goal machine Salah when the scores were level and praised him and Marmoush for what he called excellent performances.

"We do not rely on a single player but on a collective 26," he said. "Salah, Marmoush, they give it their all, they were really, really giving everything with their ferocious transitions."

Egypt's best run at the World Cup was in 1990, where they came away with two draws and a defeat, with coach Hassan himself in the side.

Egypt's participation in this World Cup went beyond the tournament, he said, and was part of a drive to reinvent the national team and make them believe they can be contenders in world football.

"We are 120 million people in Egypt so of course we need to have a strong squad, of course we have ambition, of course we need to represent all of these people," he said.

"I told them that we have to have a new national identity for our national squad ... we try to work on the mindset of the players, prepare our players and try to build their confidence that they are a strong team."

Egypt face New Zealand and Iran in their other Group G matches.