{
    "title": "2026 World Cup: Romelu Lukaku once again the saviour for Belgium",
    "modified_at": "2026-06-16 12:53:53",
    "published_at": "2026-06-16 04:44:00",
    "url": "https://belganewsagency-eu.prezly.com/2026-world-cup-romelu-lukaku-once-again-the-savior-for-the-devils",
    "short_url": "http://prez.ly/ROId",
    "culture": "en_BE",
    "language": "EN",
    "slug": "2026-world-cup-romelu-lukaku-once-again-the-savior-for-the-devils",
    "body": "<p><strong>22 seconds is all Romelu Lukaku needed as a substitute to force an own goal, allowing Belgium to draw level in a hard-fought match against Egypt in Seattle on Monday night. The match finished 1-1.</strong></p><p>Lukaku came on as a replacement for Charles De Ketelaere, who had not been able to fully establish himself as the deep striker, with Belgium 1-0 down to Emam Ashour&#039;s 20th-minute goal. Within seconds, Thomas Meunier made a good run down the right and Lukaku, darting into the penalty area, forced defender Mohamed Hany to turn the ball into his own net.</p><div id=\"story-bookmark-b3554fa0-b01e-45f0-9e64-9df57d44d3ef\"\n     class=\"release-content-story-bookmark release-content-story-bookmark--horizontal\">\n\n            <a class=\"release-content-story-bookmark__thumbnail\"\n           href=\"https://belganewsagency-eu.prezly.com/2026-world-cup-belgium-kicks-off-with-clash-against-mo-salahs-egypt\"\n           rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"\n           target=\"_blank\"           style=\"background-image: url(https://prezly.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.uc.assets.prezly.com%2F3486028c-ac59-4b7a-afa6-aeeb70f52e8e%2F-%2Fpreview%2F600x600%2F?ar=1%3A1&amp;fit=crop&amp;s=8ac95d0d6a15abad5324caac19d7b8f0)\"\n        ></a>\n    \n    <div class=\"release-content-story-bookmark__details\">\n\n                    <a class=\"release-content-story-bookmark__title\"\n               href=\"https://belganewsagency-eu.prezly.com/2026-world-cup-belgium-kicks-off-with-clash-against-mo-salahs-egypt\"\n               rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"\n               target=\"_blank\"               data-type=\"story-bookmark\"\n               data-track=\"Story StoryBookmark Click\"\n               data-placement=\"content\"\n               data-id=\"b3554fa0-b01e-45f0-9e64-9df57d44d3ef\"\n           >\n                2026 World Cup: Belgium kick off with clash against Mo Salah\u2019s Egypt            </a>\n        \n                    <div class=\"release-content-story-bookmark__description\">\n                Following a successful pre-tournament build-up, Belgium face their World Cup opener on Monday evening at 21:00 Belgian time. They take on Egypt, their main rivals in the battle to top the group, at the Lumen Field in Seattle.            </div>\n        \n        <a href=\"https://belganewsagency-eu.prezly.com/\"\n           target=\"_blank\"\n           rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"\n           class=\"release-content-story-bookmark__provider\"\n        >\n            <img class=\"release-content-story-bookmark__provider-icon\" src=\"https://avatars.prezly.com/favicon?url=https%3A%2F%2Fbelganewsagency-eu.prezly.com%2F2026-world-cup-belgium-kicks-off-with-clash-against-mo-salahs-egypt&newsroom=6b71e247-a9ba-4732-aaa3-88be14c119db\" aria-hidden=\"true\" />\n            belganewsagency-eu.prezly.com        </a>\n    </div>\n</div>\n<p>Due to a serious injury, Lukaku has barely played for his club, Napoli, this season. The plan is to gradually give him more minutes, with the hope that he will be ready for a starting spot in the final match of the group stage or the second round. He is not expected to start Sunday&#039;s match against Iran.</p><p>In the other match in the same group, Iran and New Zealand drew 2-2.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><sup>#FlandersNewsService | Belgium&#039;s Jeremy Doku, Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku &copy; BELGA PHOTO DIRK WAEM</sup></p>",
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    "author": {
        "first_name": "Flanders",
        "last_name": "News Service"
    },
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}