The 2026 World Cup has finally arrived. The biggest one-sport event in the world begins today, Thursday 11 June, when the opening match pits Mexico against South Africa at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City.
Following that game, there will be another 103 matches over almost six weeks, an increase from the previous format, which had 64 games.
All 48 countries, a record, are primed and ready for the grand spectacle which will be played across 16 host cities in a never-before-tried three host countries: Canada, Mexico and the United States.
Of prime concern to Egypt will be their Group G which includes Belgium, New Zealand and Iran.
On paper, Belgium and Iran are favoured to reach the knockout stage, but on the field it could be an entirely different matter.
Monday 15 June: Belgium vs Egypt — Lumen Field, Seattle, 10pm Cairo time
The “Golden Generation” is long gone; they were underwhelming anyway. But Belgium’s 26-man squad are ninth in the world and are heavy favourites to top Group G. That’s because they possess a blend of experienced stars and emerging talent, led by coach Rudi Garcia and captain Youri Tielemans. The new generation of Jérémy Doku, Charles De Ketelaere, Amadou Onana, and Zeno Debast might be weighed down by the legacy of their predecessors but should be under less pressure.
Some veterans, including the mid-30s former stars Kevin De Bruyne, Romelu Lukaku, Thibaut Courtois and Axel Witzel will participate for one last chance at glory.
Belgium have appeared in the tournament on now 15 occasions. Their best finish in the World Cup is third, at the Russia 2018 tournament. They previously finished fourth in the Mexico 1986 competition. Belgium reached number one in November 2015, maintaining a top position for several years. But they ultimately fell short of winning a major international trophy. They didn’t even get out of the group stages of the 2022 World Cup.
Coach Garcia was appointed in January 2025, marking his first international management role. He emphasises a 4-2-3-1 formation with a double pivot in midfield. Garcia has managed Egyptian star Mohamed Salah during his formative years at AS Roma, making him one of the few coaches in the tournament with direct first-hand knowledge of the man who will lead the Pharaohs’ attack.
In one optimistic note for Egypt, in a friendly before the 2022 Qatar World Cup, Egypt beat Belgium 1-0 in Cairo against a complete Belgian squad.
On the flip side, Belgium battered Tunisia 5-0 in their final warm-up match before facing Egypt in this World Cup opener.
Belgium could be a potential dark horse but that was their description for the past four World Cups. The reality is that they are behind the top seven or eight teams.
Monday 22 June: New Zealand vs Egypt — Vancouver Canada, 4am Cairo Time
If Egypt are to reach the knockout stage, the best opportunity and quickest route runs through New Zealand. A win against the All Whites, plus a tie with Belgium or Iran, will give Egypt four points which should be enough to reach the round of 32.
A measure of why Egypt have the upper hand over New Zealand lies in their top clubs. Egypt’s Ahly and Auckland FC of New Zealand have the most players who feed their respective national teams. In two Club World Cup tournaments, Ahly won both occasions 2-0 and 3-0.
For the first time since 2010, New Zealand are in the World Cup and they arrive in search of their first win at the tournament. They exited in the group stage in their previous two outings.
New Zealand, who secured their ticket to North America via a historic first direct slot available to Oceania that made them the only team to qualify from the zone, are the lowest-ranked nation (85th) in the 48-team football competition.
They will be searching for a place in the knockouts at this year’s tournament though they famously finished the 2010 World Cup unbeaten.
As one of only six Kiwis to ever play in the Premier League, the Nottingham Forest forward Chris Wood, who resembles an oak tree without the branches, is arguably the nation’s greatest ever player and most popular.
The top scorer in the Oceania qualifying with nine goals, Wood is joined by talented winger Elijah Just, while creative midfielder Marko Stamenic, an Olympian at Tokyo 2020, is another standout player to watch out for.
Head coach Darren Bazeley favours a possession-based style that features a blend of young talent and European-based experience. The players are also extremely fit and physical.
The squad is viewed as the underdog in the group and face a challenging path to secure a historic first-ever knockout stage appearance.
Saturday 27 June: Iran vs Egypt — Seattle, 6am Cairo time
Iran are in the unenviable position of being the only nation in history involved in a full-fledged war with a World Cup host country. Their participation in the tournament was seriously in doubt and their late change of training base from the US to Mexico due to uncertainty surrounding the war, as well as security concerns, have made Iran’s off the field situation talked about much more than their playing.
One of their biggest problems is that their 17 home-based players belong to clubs which have not played since February due to the war.
But they do feature players with clubs in the United Arab Emirates, Belgium, Greece and Russia.
Mehdi Taremi scored 10 goals during World Cup qualifying. But what stands Taremi apart is his brace against England at the 2022 World Cup, which makes him the only Iranian player to score more than once at the World Cup. However, his strike partner and Iran’s primary playmaker Sardar Azmoun was dropped from coach Amir Ghalenoei’s squad in March, reportedly because of a social media post about the ongoing conflict that angered Iranian authorities.
This is Ghalenoei’s second spell in charge of Iran. He also has a long history of club management in Iran, taking charge of almost 700 matches to date and winning five Iranian league titles.
Iran are at the World Cup for the fourth consecutive tournament but have never made it out of their group at any of their six previous World Cups, although they came close in each of the past two editions. And the current crop is 20 in the world.
Iran will play New Zealand and Belgium in Inglewood, California, where a large number of Iranian immigrants reside.
Iran and the US could meet in the round of 32 if both place second in their groups.
As such, Iran’s third game with Egypt in Seattle could be the deciding match for second place.
Although Egypt are African champions a record seven times, their World Cups have been paltry and poor.
The Pharaohs were the first African and Arab nation to take part in a World Cup, in 1934. But they failed to reach the group stage, with similar results in 1990 and 2018.
They are also still waiting to win a game at the World Cup.
If they are to at last win one, they will depend a lot on their usually strong defence, probably employing an unusual five at the back, which took them to the semi-finals of last January’s Africa Cup of Nations.
Up front, much is riding on their talisman Mohamed Salah, recently back from injury, who had an off-season with Liverpool but who is expected from his supporters to snap out of it and deliver on the game’s biggest stage. Omar Marmoush, who also had a down season with Manchester City — the forward only started eight of City’s Premier League games in 2025-26 — is supposed to pair up with Salah for a one-two punch.
Bringing in fresh new faces like Hamza Abdel-Karim, 18, who plays for Barcelona’s essentially B team, has reduced the squad’s average age to 25 to balance experience and youth.
This World Cup will be the second for Salah, Mahmoud Trezeguet and veteran goalkeeper Mohamed Al-Shinnawi following their participation at the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
Egypt’s coaching staff is led by the fiery, animated Hossam Hassan who, along with his twin brother Ibrahim as head of football operations, were part of the Pharaohs squad that competed at the 1990 World Cup in Italy.
In the run-up of friendlies to this World Cup, Egypt trounced Saudi Arabia 4-0, played to a goalless draw with Spain which at the time were No 1 in the world, beat Russia 1-0 and lost to Brazil 2-1.
Egypt are 29th in the world, below Belgium and Iran but way ahead of New Zealand. Group G is manageable and Egypt do not have to be spectacular. If they can play decent football and perhaps defeat New Zealand, with the expanded 48-team format allowing the top two sides from each group, plus the eight best third-placed teams, to reach the Round of 32, there is a strong possibility of reaching a first-ever World Cup knockout stage.
* A version of this article appears in print in the 11 June, 2026 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly.
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