England Finally Show Up When It Matters
England beat Egypt 2-0 at MetLife Stadium in a match that felt less like a Group F opener and more like a statement of intent from a team that's been promising greatness for years. On the other side, Mohamed Salah — one of the finest players alive — needed a miracle and instead got a reminder that time is running out.
There's a particular kind of England fan who has learned not to trust the good feelings. They've been here before — the hopeful group stage, the cagey optimism, then the slow unravelling somewhere in the knockout rounds. So when the Three Lions walked out at MetLife Stadium on June 13th and actually looked like a team with a plan, you could almost hear the collective exhale of a nation.
Jude Bellingham has that rare quality of making football look inevitable. At 22, controlling a World Cup match in New Jersey like he owns the lease on it, pulling Egypt's midfield apart in ways that poor Mohamed Elneny — 33 years old and running on fumes and pride — simply couldn't contain. Harry Kane got his goal. Of course he did. The man turns up.
For Egypt, this was always going to be about Salah. He carried them here almost single-handedly through qualification, the romantic idea of a legend finally gracing a World Cup with a squad capable of backing him up. Instead, Egypt chased shadows for 90 minutes, and Salah — isolated, frustrated — had one of those evenings that hurt to watch. A 2-0 loss to open a tournament leaves almost no margin for error.
The stakes
England go top of Group F and need only a draw from their remaining two games to feel comfortable about qualification. Egypt, meanwhile, must win both their next fixtures — against opponents who will smell blood — just to have a realistic chance of reaching the knockout rounds for the first time in the modern World Cup era.
The rivalry angle
England and Egypt don't have the kind of rivalry that fills history books, but June 13th 2026 carries its own emotional weight: this was the night Bukayo Saka, Bellingham and Kane announced themselves as genuine contenders, while Salah's window — already narrowing — closed just a little bit more. Football is often cruelest to the ones who deserve it least.
Players who could decide it
Orchestrated the entire match from midfield, the kind of performance that makes neutral fans stop scrolling and watch.
Got on the scoresheet again — a man who treats World Cup goals like a professional obligation.
The whole Egyptian dream runs through him, and on a night he needed to be unstoppable, England made sure he wasn't.
Did you know?
- !Egypt last appeared at a World Cup in 1990, making this only their third ever tournament — and their first in 36 years before qualifying for 2026.
- !Harry Kane has now scored in each of his last four major tournament group stage appearances for England.
- !MetLife Stadium in New Jersey holds over 82,500 fans, making it one of the largest venues of the 2026 tournament — and England filled the noise like it was Wembley.
Head to head
England and Egypt have met only a handful of times, with England winning a friendly as recently as 2010 — these sides rarely cross paths, which made tonight feel like a fresh story rather than a settled score.
Highlights
Video highlights coming soon