For the better part of an hour, it looked like New Zealand, the lowest ranked team in the field, was about to take control of Group G.
A late flurry of goals by Egypt keyed by their star man Mohamed Salah combined with another miserable finishing day and a second half red card for Belgium means the Pharaohs could be well on their way to topping the group.
EGYPT 3, NEW ZEALAND 1
In the early stages, it was New Zealand on the front foot, taking an early lead off a corner kick when Portland Timbers defender Finn Surman smashed home a header following a Tim Payne corner kick just 15 minutes into the match.
Surman's goal was the fourth different country having an MLS player record a goal for at the tournament, a new league record and achieved just halfway through the group phase.
The All Blacks nearly doubled their lead just after the restart, when Marko Stamenic crossed into the box to find the head of Callum McCowatt whose deftly headed touch had to be parried over the bar by Mostafa Shobeir in the Egypt goal.
Jake Catanese
That danger proved to be the wake up call Egypt needed, as just before the hour mark Mohamed Hany crossed in to find Mostafa Zico unmarked in the middle of the box and his powerful header gave Max Crocombe no time to react as Kiwi keeper could only get his arm up fast enough to slightly deflect the ball as it went by him.
Mo Salah would complete the comeback ten minutes later, when in the 67th minute Egypt carved their way through the New Zealand defense and finished off a nifty one-two move with Zico before slotting home into the far corner.
The Pharaohs sealed the match in the 82nd when Salah sent in a low near post corner that substitute forward Trezeguet crouched down slightly to redirect past Crocombe and complete the scoreline.
BELGIUM 0, IRAN 0
The major highlight from this one came in the 66th minute, when defender Nathan Ngoy for Belgium mishit a pass and had to haul down Medhi Taremi in a wide open field and was dismissed, causing Belgium to mostly bunker for the remainder.
Iran had a first half set piece goal overturned for offside, rightly so, but a terrific training ground routine to spring Taremi with a short pass close to the wall that was expecting a cross though the Team Melli start man moved just slightly early.
Jake Catanese
Belgium did make Iran earn their shutout, but Alireza Beiranvand answered the challenge with seven saves. The Red Devils attacking woes continued as their most productive players were, not surprisingly, midfielder Kevin De Bruyne and then leftback Maxim De Cuyper's 4-for-5 shooting performance that racked up about half of the entire team's 1.79 xG on a not spectacular 7-for-23 that saw only 3 shots outside of the area.
Belgium has not technically scored yet at this World Cup, with Egypt's Mohamed Hany's own goal serving as their only tally through two games. Romelu Lukaku was credited with just one off target shot and 24 touches before being subbed off in the 73rd minute.
GROUP OVERVIEW
Well, the Pharaohs control their own destiny now and a win over Iran would secure them the group. A draw in EGY-IRN would be interesting because then both Egypt and Belgium could be on five points assuming the latter beats New Zealand.
Jake Catanese
The Kiwis are still alive but would absolutely need an upset win over the Red Devils which is a shame because they have played tremendously well in two matches. Likewise an Iran win could also see them top the group as they lead Belgium for second currently on goals scored. A wild bunch of scenarios here few expected given the fact Belgium were overwhelming favorites.
UPCOMING MATCHES
Friday, June 26
Match 65: New Zealand vs. Belgium, 11 p.m. on Fox (Vancouver)
Match 66: Egypt vs. Iran, 11 p.m. on FS1 (Seattle)
