Lukaku's introduction earns Belgium 1-1 draw with Egypt

Egypt opened the scoring against the run of play on 19 minutes through a powerful strike by midfielder Emam Ashour for his first international goal.

Belgium spurned several chances to equalise, Jeremy Doku slicing horribly wide just before the break and Kevin De Bruyne rattling the post from a free kick as Egypt's hopes grew of a first World Cup win at their fourth finals.

But Lukaku, who endured an injury-ravaged season at Italian side Napoli, came on in the 66th minute and some 20 seconds later Belgium were level, with the unfortunate Mohamed Hany turning a dangerous cross into his own net.

Either side could have won ⁠it late on as Egypt were not content to settle for a point, and Lukaku missed a golden opportunity to head the winner with two minutes of regular time remaining.

Belgium coach Rudi Garcia hailed Lukaku's instant impact, saying the striker can contribute even when he is unable to start and that the prospect of facing him scares defenders.

"If he can play the super-sub role, come on and score every time he comes on, that would be great," Garcia said. "When you're an opponent and you see Lukaku coming onto the pitch, you're probably quaking in your boots."

He also remained positive about his side's prospects though the draw gives Sunday's clash against Iran in Los Angeles greater significance.

"We're still in the competition, foot in the door, but now obviously we have to win against Iran," he said.

The other two teams in Group G, Iran and New Zealand, meet in Los Angeles later on Monday.

Egypt coach Hossam Hassan saw progress in his side's performance against a strong team, saying he thought they were the more likely to snatch victory.

"We were the ones who scored ‌the opening ⁠goal, and they equalised," he said. "I believe we were closer to winning — we really were. The chances we created were arguably more in our favour."

Lukaku saves Belgium's blushes

Both sides unsurprisingly began cautiously but Belgium soon took control, De Bruyne missing the game's first real chance when he dragged a shot wide from the edge of the box.

Just as they seemed to be gaining the upper hand, though, Egypt took the lead when captain Mo Salah, playing in a deeper central role on his 34th birthday, found Ashour who fired past Thibaut Courtois at full stretch.

Belgium moved through the ⁠gears with halftime approaching, but Leandro Trossard totally missed the ball from a cutback by Doku, who should have levelled in added time.

De Bruyne's free kick early in the second half beat goalkeeper Mostafa Shobeir but not the post, while Egypt missed chances to extend their lead as Belgium increasingly lived dangerously in pursuit of an equaliser.

The introduction of Lukaku, who played little more than ⁠an hour for Napoli this season, ultimately proved the difference and Garcia conceded that Belgium remain reliant on the striker.

Lukaku, though, showed his lack of match sharpness when he headed fellow substitute Nicolas Raskin's cross over the bar from close range with the goal gaping.

Egypt had a late penalty shout in a frantic end to the game, when Ahmed ⁠Mostafa "Zizo" went down under contact from Maxim De Cuyper which was waved away by the referee.

Hassan, however, was adamant the decision was incorrect.

"What surprises me is that there was no VAR review and the referee didn't even consider going back to check it or stopping play," he said. "That was a 100% penalty. If it had been against us, it would have been given."