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Egypt were beaten 2-1 by Brazil in their most recent friendly, putting them on a bit of a low for their opening World Cup fixture.

By contrast, Belgium thrashed Tunisia 5-0, meaning they are unbeaten in all four of their friendlies heading into the World Cup, with 13 goals scored in that time. Even though they were helped by a red card for Tunisia last time out, Belgium were already firmly in control of proceedings.

They will hope to extend that positive run of form against Egypt here, especially considering how the Pharaohs were slightly unconvincing at the recent AFCON.

Despite making it to the semi-finals, Egypt were quite defensive in their approach against the top sides, opting to play on the counter.

If Egypt persists with those tactics, it is likely to be one-way traffic in Seattle, with Belgium dominating.

Egypt conceded an average of 5.14 corners per game at AFCON, despite being favourites for most of their games, and both Senegal and Ivory Coast cleared this line against them in the knockouts.

Belgium have more attacking firepower than both of those nations, and they averaged 10.38 corners per game during the World Cup qualifiers. They even managed to hit double figures in six of those eight matches, which shows how they were incredibly effective at getting to the byline and creating dangerous chances.

Belgium even had 14 corners against Tunisia last time out.

Mo Salah will naturally attract the most attention when Egypt are playing, but Omar Marmoush is another significant threat in the final third, and he looks set to lead the line for his national side.

The Man City forward did not have his most prolific domestic season under Guardiola, but he bagged 28 goals in the 24/25 campaign, which shows just how devastating he can be in the final third.

He also displayed his quality on the international stage at AFCON 2025, scoring twice in six appearances, and he looked a constant threat for Egypt when they did break forward.

The Pharaohs might not have much possession in this game, but Marmoush can be effective in transition.

Jeremy Doku is expected to start on the left wing for Belgium, the opposite side to where he plays for Man City.

The winger had an average of 3.35 fouls drawn per 90 during Belgium's World Cup qualifying matches and 2.9 in their Nations League campaign. Those numbers remained impressively high domestically, as Doku was fouled more times than any other player in the Man City squad, averaging 2.92 fouls drawn per 90.

Ahmed Fattouh looks set to be Doku’s direct matchup, and he won’t be accustomed to facing a player as tricky or direct as the 24-year-old. Fattouh should be heavily involved defensively, which makes his foul prices appeal.

Kevin De Bruyne is still going strong at 34-years-old, and he looks set for a big role at the World Cup after recovering from his hamstring injury.

He finished the domestic season with five goals from 18 Serie A appearances for Napoli, and he bettered that tally with six goals from six appearances for Belgium in their qualifying matches.

The attacking midfielder also had an average of 4.12 shots per 90 in those games - the highest of any player in the entire national squad, and he managed to get on the scoresheet against Tunisia last time out.

De Bruyne will be the designated free-kick taker for Belgium, and potentially on penalties too, which makes him one to target in the final third.

Doku was the standout performer for Belgium during their qualifying matches, as he chipped in with five goals and two assists from his eight appearances.

He then added a further two assists to his tally against Tunisia last time out, which shows just how important he is to his national side. Despite playing on the left wing, Doku has still been efficient in the final third and incredibly difficult to predict.

He ended the season in a real rich vein of form for Man City, almost single-handedly keeping them in the title race at times, and he will hope to maintain that excellent form at the World Cup.

Hamdy Fathy recorded the highest foul count of any Egyptian player in their AFCON campaign, averaging 2.24 fouls per 90 from his seven appearances in the competition.

He committed multiple infringements in five of his six starts, so he was extremely fortunate to escape with just a single yellow card. Fathy typically operates in a defensive midfield role, meaning he will be tasked with stopping counterattacks, which might prove a difficult job against a side like Belgium.

Fathy plays in the Qatari Stars League for Al-Wakrah, which means the quality and pace of Belgium's forward line is an entirely different challenge to what he normally faces, and he should have plenty of defensive work to get through here.

Maxim De Cuyper looks set to start at left back against Egypt, and he should be able to get forward into promising advanced areas.

He scored twice from his 30 Premier League appearances for Brighton this season, which doesn’t quite exemplify just how regularly he looked to get forward.

De Cuyper had an average of 2.36 shots per 90 across his six starts in Belgium’s qualifiers, and two of those efforts managed to find the back of the net.

He is afforded plenty of attacking freedom by Rudi Garcia, who likes his fullbacks to be aggressive and push into attacking positions, which bodes well for De Cuyper here.

Youri Tielemans is expected to partner Amadou Onana in midfield for Belgium, and the two will be familiar with each other from playing at Aston Villa as teammates.

Tielemans is typically the one who looks to get on the ball more often, dictating play, and he should see plenty of involvement if Egypt sit deep.

Tielemans has been fouled at least twice in each of his last four appearances for Belgium, and he had an average of 1.77 fouls drawn per 90 across all competitions for Aston Villa this season.

He is adept at using his body to retain possession and deal with opponents pressing him, which makes this price stand out.