Belgium ended their World Cup goal drought

Belgium brought an end to their 325-minute World Cup scoring drought during the dramatic 1-1 draw against Egypt in their Group G opener in Seattle. The Red Devils had not scored since their 1-0 win over Canada in their opening group game at Qatar 2022, after which they drew 0-0 with Croatia and suffered a shocking 0-2 defeat to Morocco.

The goal for Rudy Garcia's side didn't come from a Belgian boot, however — it arrived via a curious defensive error. Striker Romelu Lukaku came on as a substitute in the 66th minute and just 22 seconds later, under his intense pressure in the box, Egypt defender Mohamed Hany turned the ball into his own net.

Notably, this was the third own goal of the 2026 World Cup, meaning this edition has already surpassed the entire Qatar 2022 tournament, which saw just two own goals in total. The all-time record belongs to the 2018 World Cup in Russia, which produced a remarkable 12 own goals. At the other end of the spectrum, the tournaments of 1934, 1950, 1958, 1962 and 1990 passed without a single own goal.