Kevin De Bruyne dey happy to see im old rival Mohamed Salah again as Belgium and Egypt go face for World Cup. Di two stars don play big roles for Premier League title race between Manchester City and Liverpool for many years. Now dem go meet again for Seattle on Monday.
“I play against Mo for 10 years,” De Bruyne talk for di eve of di game. “Our kids also go to di same school. So, I see am from time to time. And, he be really nice guy. So, e go nice to see am. E go nice to compete again like old times.”
Both De Bruyne and Salah go start for dem respective nations for Monday. Dis na key clash between teams wey get big points to prove. Dem expect dem to finish for top two for Group G.
Belgium boss Rudi Garcia get main selection decisions for centre-back and up front. Atalanta forward Charles De Ketelaere go continue to lead di line ahead of all-time record scorer Romelu Lukaku. Lukaku still dey short of full match fitness after a season wey injury spoil am. E only make five Serie A appearances.
Sporting defender Zeno Debast make di Red Devils World Cup squad but no expect am to dey available until later for di competition due to thigh injury. Dat mean e go be two from Arthur Theate, Brandon Mechele and Nathan Ngoy to start for central defence against Egypt. Di latter duo dem pick for di 5-0 warm-up rout of Tunisia for Brussels last week.
There be choice to make at left-back. Garcia fit favour Timothy Castagne over di more offensive-minded Maxim De Cuyper, as e do against Tunisia. Goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois return from im lengthy international exile last year, while Thomas Meunier dey regular at right-back still.
An all-Aston Villa midfield pivot of Amadou Onana and captain Youri Tielemans go support an attacking trio of Leandro Trossard, De Bruyne and Jeremy Doku. Doku quickly shake off a fitness scare last week.
Egypt get no known injury worries. Dem go look to Mohamed Salah – wey don recover from hamstring injury wey e sustain late for im final season at Liverpool – and Manchester City star Omar Marmoush to fire dem to a maiden World Cup win at dia fourth finals.
Mostafa Shobeir fit start ahead of veteran Mohamed El Shenawy for goal. Mohamed Hany and Ahmed Fatouh be di frontrunners to line up at full-back. Di versatile Hamdy Fathy and Yasser Ibrahim fit be di centre-back partnership. Ramy Rabia, Hossam Abdelmaguid and Mohamed Abdelmonem all be alternative options. Head coach Hossam Hassan fit also opt for a back five.
Marwan Attia and Emam Ashour go dey for di midfield engine room. Mohanad Lasheen also fit start if Fathy dey for defence. Salah and Marmoush be nailed-on starters. Di likes of Trezeguet, Zizo and Mostafa Ziko all dey compete to join dem further forward.
Only few members of Belgium golden generation go dey for dis summer World Cup. Can di younger members of dia squad help take di nation legends to glory? Despite never win anything at international level and only make final of one major tournament – wey dem lose, at Euro 1980, to West Germany – hopes for Belgium dey high once again going into World Cup.
For a group alongside Egypt, Iran and New Zealand, e dey almost treated as a given dat di Red Devils go make di knockout stages. However, di 2026 World Cup go represent a transition from Belgium golden generation to di next generation. Local and international media don talk about Belgium golden generation for more dan a generation.
Di national team see international stars like Eden Hazard, Dries Mertens, Vincent Kompany, Jan Vertonghen, Toby Alderweireld, Mousa Dembélé rise through di ranks before dem retire without win any silverware. Looking at di current squad wey dem select by dia pragmatic manager Rudi Garcia, only Thibaut Courtois, Kevin De Bruyne, Romelu Lukaku and Axel Witsel remain with di aim of delivering one of di country most-talked-about teams a prize after all dis time.
Di best achievement for di players wey belong to Belgium most talented group na a third-place finish at di 2018 World Cup. Dem knock am out by eventual winners France for di semi-finals, before dem beat England for di third-place play-off. For Witsel (136), Lukaku (124), De Bruyne (117) and Courtois (107), Belgium get four centurions for di squad. Only Qatar (7), Croatia (4) and Panama (4) name as many for dia initial World Cup squads.
Looking at di ages of dem four players, di 2026 World Cup go almost certainly be dia final major tournament. Witsel (37 years and 154 days on di day of Belgium opening game) fit become di oldest player to feature for di Red Devils at a major tournament. E go break di record wey Wilfried van Moer hold (37 years, 119 days at di 1982 World Cup). Courtois, De Bruyne and Lukaku all be either 33 or 34. Based on dem respective campaigns at club level dis season, e look unlikely dat dia national team careers go extend for much longer.
Courtois still play 51 games for Real Madrid for all competitions for 2025-26, but e miss im club most important matches of di season after e come off injured at half-time for di Champions League last 16. Witsel play 32 matches for La Liga dis season as part of di Girona side wey dem relegate to di Segunda División. Lukaku only play 64 matches for Napoli for 2025-26 due to injuries and multiple misunderstandings with manager Antonio Conte and club president Aurelio De Laurentiis. Di striker – wey don score a whopping 90 international goals for Belgium – don struggle with im fitness for di past. Dat one also be problem for Napoli teammate De Bruyne dis season too. Im first year for di south of Italy na big disappointment. De Bruyne only play 21 matches for all competitions (a career-low), while e only contribute to nine goals (five goals, four assists), im lowest such tally since e leave Belgian outfit KRC Genk for 2012. Dis one largely due to di hamstring injury wey e sustain after e score a penalty against eventual Serie A champions Internazionale for October.
After dem disappointing seasons, Courtois, Witsel, Lukaku and De Bruyne go hope to help dem country to international success dis summer. But dem go take dem younger compatriots by di hand, or e go be di other way around? One of Belgium biggest rising stars na De Bruyne former Manchester City teammate Jérémy Doku. A promising addition to di Belgian ranks be Diego Moreira. Son of former Guinea-Bissau international Almami Moreira and born for Liège, di versatile Strasbourg wide player feature for almost every Portuguese youth team before dem call am by Garcia for di Belgium national squad for 2025. After a rock-solid season for Ligue 1 and a trip to di UEFA Conference League semi-finals, with five goals and eight assists for all competitions, Moreira go add to di technical and dribbling ability on Belgium flanks.
With so much creativity there, there go be less reliance on De Bruyne to forge chances, and Lukaku go get great wingers around am to provide goalscoring opportunities. Also, for Belgium two warm-up friendlies ahead of di tournament, fans get a first glimpse of Lille Matias Fernandez-Pardo. Di Brussels-born forward only recently dem welcome am back to di Belgian national team after e request an allegiance switch to Spain for 2025. Di 21-year-old score eight times and provide four assists for 41 matches for di Ligue 1 side dis season. Im inclusion for di squad dem perceive as a statement by di Belgian federation after dem lose top talents Jorthy Mokio (DR Congo) and Rayane Bounida (Morocco) for recent years.
At di other end of di pitch, with experienced defenders Vertonghen and Alderweireld don retire since di last World Cup, Garcia need to rejuvenate im backline as well. Dat where Nathan Ngoy come in. Di 23-year-old dem pick am by Lille last summer following a couple of seasons of going under di radar at Standard Liège. E quickly become a regular for a side wey finish di season third for Ligue 1, with di third best defensive record. Ngoy only make im national team debut for March but don start for each of Belgium three matches since den. For dem three games, Ngoy win 75% of im aerial duels, make more clearances and headed clearances dan any of im teammates, and register di joint-most interceptions and recoveries.
Di remaining players from Belgium golden generation dey hand di baton over to a new group of youngsters – with Doku, Moreira, Fernandez-Pardo and Ngoy at di core of dat group and ready to follow for dem footsteps. Add to dat list a more mature Charles De Ketelaere, di Premier League experience of Amadou Onana, and Leandro Trossard recent performances for Premier League champions and Champions League finalists Arsenal. Di Red Devils fit actually get a much more well-rounded squad dan for dem golden years.
