Belgium vs Egypt: World Cup 2023 Opening Match Preview

Belgium arrive in Seattle with the look of a team that has heard all the noise and intends to live up to every word of it.

On Monday night, at Seattle Stadium, the Red Devils open their FIFA World Cup campaign against Egypt in Group G, carrying the weight of expectation and the form to justify it. They did not just qualify; they stormed through. No defeats in the qualifiers, barely a stumble, their dominance as routine as it was ruthless.

That authority has bled straight into their preparation. Croatia were handled with a controlled 2-0 win. Tunisia were torn apart 5-0, a scoreline that said as much about Belgium’s sharpness as it did about their opponents’ frailty. The attack looks loaded, the confidence obvious. It is no surprise they sit among the early favourites to go deep into this tournament.

Defensive headache for Garcia

Yet even the most polished sides carry a blemish or two into a World Cup, and for Rudi Garcia it sits at the heart of his defence.

Zeno Debast, the young centre-back who had grown into a key figure, is out with a leg injury. He has travelled, a reminder that Belgium expect him to feature later in the competition, but he will play no part in this opener. For a manager who likes structure at the back and freedom further forward, that absence bites.

Garcia is expected to turn to a makeshift pairing of Brandon Mechele and Joel Ngoy in central defence. It is not the partnership he would have drawn up in an ideal world, but it is the one he must trust now. How they cope with the pressure and the occasion will shape the tone of Belgium’s night as much as anything that happens at the other end.

Beyond Debast, though, the medical bulletin is clean. The rest of the squad is fit, fresh, and straining for a first taste of the tournament.

Lukaku or De Ketelaere?

The real debate sits up front.

Garcia must decide whether to lean on Romelu Lukaku, the proven goalscorer with the World Cup pedigree, or to shift the picture entirely and start Charles De Ketelaere as a false nine. The choice is not just about names; it’s about identity.

With Lukaku, Belgium gain a focal point, a striker who pins centre-backs and punishes the slightest lapse. With De Ketelaere, the front line becomes more fluid, the central striker drifting into pockets, dragging defenders out of shape and clearing lanes for runners from deep.

Either way, the system should remain aggressive. Belgium are expected to set up in a 4-2-3-1, a shape that hands the keys to Kevin De Bruyne. He will operate where he always does his best work: between the lines, dictating tempo, threading passes through gaps that others barely see.

Out wide, Jeremy Doku’s role feels just as important, if less glamorous. His pace and direct running can rip open the Egyptian back line, forcing full-backs to turn and chase rather than step forward. On the opposite flank, Leandro Trossard offers craft and movement, the kind of subtlety that dovetails perfectly with De Bruyne’s vision.

Behind them, the double pivot of Amadou Onana and Youri Tielemans should give Belgium both bite and balance. Onana will patrol and disrupt; Tielemans will link and launch.

Predicted Belgium XI

Thibaut Courtois is set to start in goal, a reassuring presence behind that reshaped defence.

In front of him, Thomas Meunier and Timothy Castagne are expected to take the full-back roles, with Mechele and Ngoy forming the central pairing. Onana and Tielemans should anchor midfield.

Ahead of them, Trossard, De Bruyne and Doku are likely to line up as the attacking trio behind the central forward, with De Ketelaere tipped to get the nod as the starting striker.

Possible Belgium starting XI: Courtois; Meunier, Mechele, Ngoy, Castagne; Onana, Tielemans; Trossard, De Bruyne, Doku; De Ketelaere.

Under the lights in Seattle

Kick-off comes at 8pm BST on Monday, 15 June, with viewers in the UK able to watch the match live on BBC One.

For Belgium, this is more than an opening fixture. It is an early test of their claim to be genuine contenders, a chance to show that the ruthless efficiency of qualifying and the swagger of their warm-up games can survive the harsher light of a World Cup night.

If they deliver, the noise around this team will only grow louder.