Belgium’s World Cup Journey Begins Against Egypt
Belgium’s World Cup charge begins on Monday night in Seattle, with expectation already weighing heavily on the so‑called golden generation. Group G opens with a meeting against Egypt, and the Red Devils arrive looking less like hopefuls and more like a machine that has forgotten how to lose.
They did not drop a single game in qualifying. Not one. They swept through their group with the kind of authority that turns dark horses into outright contenders, and they have barely eased off in the build-up. A controlled 2-0 win over Croatia, then a ruthless 5-0 dismantling of Tunisia, have only sharpened the sense that Belgium are ready to go deep into this tournament.
The goals have flowed, the football has been front-foot, and the mood inside the camp is that of a squad that knows its window is now.
Garcia’s defensive headache
Not everything has gone to script.
Rudi Garcia’s preparations took a hit at centre-back, where Zeno Debast has been ruled out of the opener with a leg injury. He has travelled, but the medical staff do not expect him to feature until later in the competition. For a coach who values structure behind his attacking stars, that is a problem.
Garcia is poised to turn to a patched-up pairing of Brandon Mechele and Joel Ngoy at the heart of the defence. It is not his first-choice partnership, and Egypt will know it. Any early Belgian nerves are likely to surface there, in the spaces between two defenders still feeling their way into a World Cup.
Beyond Debast, though, the news is almost embarrassingly positive. The rest of the squad is fit, sharp and jostling for starting places.
Lukaku or De Ketelaere?
The real debate sits at the other end of the pitch.
Garcia must choose between the tried-and-tested muscle of Romelu Lukaku and the subtler, more fluid threat of Charles De Ketelaere as a false nine. It is a tactical fork in the road: power and penalty-box presence, or movement and interchange.
Given the way Belgium are expected to set up, De Ketelaere has a strong case. The likely 4-2-3-1 puts enormous creative responsibility on Kevin De Bruyne, who will operate in his favoured central pocket, dictating tempo and threading passes into gaps that only he seems to see. A false nine drifting away from the centre-backs would give De Bruyne even more angles to exploit.
Out wide, Jeremy Doku brings the chaos. His pace and direct running will be central to Belgium’s plan to stretch Egypt, drag defenders out of shape and force one‑on‑one duels in wide areas. On the opposite flank, Leandro Trossard offers craft and intelligence between the lines, constantly looking to slide inside and combine.
Behind them, Amadou Onana and Youri Tielemans are expected to form the midfield base: one to bite and break up play, the other to pass and progress. It is a blend that allows the full-backs, Thomas Meunier and Timothy Castagne, to push on and pin Egypt deep.
Thibaut Courtois, as ever, stands as the final barrier. He may not be the busiest man in Seattle, but his presence alone is a comfort blanket for a back line missing a key piece.
Predicted Belgium XI
Courtois; Meunier, Mechele, Ngoy, Castagne; Onana, Tielemans; Trossard, De Bruyne, Doku; De Ketelaere.
Under the lights in Seattle
Kick-off at Seattle Stadium comes at 8pm BST on Monday, 15 June, with viewers in the UK able to watch it live on BBC One.
Belgium arrive with form, firepower and expectation. Egypt arrive with nothing to fear and everything to disrupt. For Garcia and his players, this is not just an opening fixture; it is the first test of whether this generation can finally turn promise into something lasting.
