TRIBUNWOW.COM – Belgium kicked off their 2026 World Cup campaign with a match against Egypt.
According to TribunWow.com, the opening group G match of the 2026 World Cup took place at Seattle Stadium on Tuesday, 16 June 2026, in the early hours of Western Indonesian Time.
On paper, Belgium were considered favourites to secure all three points.
However, Egypt had the potential to surprise Belgium with their performance.
Both Belgium and Egypt fielded their strongest squads in pursuit of victory.
The Red Devils, as Belgium are nicknamed, deployed their best line-up to ensure a positive start.
Belgium’s starting eleven included Thibaut Courtois, Jeremy Doku, Napoli’s Kevin De Bruyne, and Arsenal’s Leandro Trossard.
Meanwhile, Egypt’s key players featured Mohamed Salah, Omar Marmoush, Yasser Ibrahim, and Mostafa Ziko.
Football fans eagerly awaited to see whether Belgium could overcome Egypt comfortably or face a tough challenge.
Belgium vs Egypt Starting Line-ups
Belgium
Starters: Thibaut Courtois, Thomas Meunier, Nathan Ngoy, Brandon Mechele, Timothy Castagne, Youri Tielemans, Amadou Onana, Leandro Trossard, Kevin De Bruyne, Jeremy Doku, and Charles De Ketelaere.
Substitutes: Senne Lammens, Mike Penders, Arthur Theate, Joaquin Seys, Koni De Winter, Maxim De Cuyper, Alexis Saelemaekers, Axel Witsel, Diego Moreira, Dodi Lukebakio, Nicolas Raskin, Hans Vanaken, Matias Fernandez-Pardo, and Romelu Lukaku.
Egypt
Starters: Mostafa Shobeir, Mohamed Hany, Yasser Ibrahim, Hamdy Fathy, Ahmed Fatouh, Mohanad Lasheen, Marwan Attia, Mohamed Salah (C), Emam Ashour, Mostafa Ziko, and Omar Marmoush.
Substitutes: Mahdi Soliman, Mohamed Alaa, Mohammed El-Shenawy, Hossam Abdelmaguid, Karim Hafez, Mohamed Abdelmonem, Rami Rabia, Tarek Alaa, Haissem Hassan, Ibrahim Adel, Mahmoud Saber, Mahmoud Trezeguet, Nabil Donga, Zizo, and Hamza Abdelkarim.
One of the local jersey business owners in Solo, under the brand NS Jersey, is Nofi Setiawan, who shared his prediction for the winner and runner-up of Group A.
Before giving his predictions, Nofi recounted his journey of building his jersey business.
He started the business while still in high school.
“The background of this business comes from my marketing studies in school. There were practice exams, so I decided to test this business idea during that time. It aligned with my hobby, and after graduating from college, I continued to sell little by little until now,” Nofi explained.
“Thank God, it has grown considerably. I sell adult jerseys in two versions: standard (stadium) and player issue. I also sell shorts and children’s jerseys. That’s a bit about how I started this business,” Nofi told TribunWow.com on Wednesday (10 June 2026).
Nofi began to take his business more seriously after the Covid-19 pandemic hit Indonesia.
“Actually, it started as a hobby around 2020. I enjoyed it and earned some money, but hadn’t thought about making it serious. After the Covid-19 outbreak, I decided to focus more on it, and it has continued to grow since then,” he shared.
Regarding the 2026 World Cup and the public’s enthusiasm for buying jerseys, Nofi said that the excitement usually rises after the group stage ends.
“Yes, the momentum usually comes after the group stage,” he said.
According to Nofi, the most popular and best-selling jerseys are from European teams, particularly Germany and France.
Besides Germany and France, the football powerhouses from South America — Brazil and Argentina — are also among the favourites.
“The best-selling jerseys are definitely from Germany and France. Portugal ranks slightly lower, but fans buy mainly because of Ronaldo. Then Argentina and Brazil are very popular too. England isn’t as hyped, and neither is the Netherlands,” he explained.
Interestingly, Nofi noted that Dutch jerseys are often ordered by customers from eastern Indonesia.
“The Netherlands jerseys are usually sent to eastern Indonesia, as many people there have Dutch heritage, so there’s a lot of demand from that region,” Nofi revealed.
The Solo-based entrepreneur added that buyers usually have three main reasons for purchasing jerseys.
“From my experience, there are three main factors: design, fandom (for players like Ronaldo, Mbappe, or Messi — fans follow their countries), and budget,” he said.
Since entering the football jersey business, Nofi has found it exciting when older designs sell again because a team performs well in the World Cup.
“What impresses me most is when I still have old stock and the team progresses far in the tournament. For example, I still had Argentina jerseys during the 2022 World Cup, and when they reached the semifinals, demand shot up. Thankfully, sales and prices increased as well,” he shared.
As for the farthest deliveries, Nofi once shipped jerseys to Papua and Maluku.
Orders to Papua and Maluku usually come in bulk quantities.
His largest shipment reached 12 pieces in one order.
Customers from Maluku and Papua typically coordinate purchases together to reduce shipping costs.
“I have customers as far as Papua and Maluku. They aren’t resellers; they buy for themselves. The largest order was around 12 pieces. They usually collect orders among friends to save on shipping,” he said.
(TribunWow.com)
