Thibaut Courtois and Mohamed Salah Achieve Milestones in FIFA World Cup Matches

Historic Moments for Belgium and Egypt

New Delhi, June 27: In a remarkable day for football, Belgium's goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois and Egypt's star Mohamed Salah made headlines during their final league stage matches in the FIFA World Cup.

In the match where Belgium faced New Zealand, which ended in a 5-1 victory for Belgium, Courtois marked his 18th appearance in the FIFA World Cup. This achievement allowed him to surpass Enzo Scifo's previous record of 17 appearances, as highlighted by FIFA's official social media account.

A Belgian @FIFAWorldCup record-breaker!

Thibaut Courtois has now played more FIFA World Cup matches than any other player in Belgium's history pic.twitter.com/4puZeHIumD

— FIFA (@FIFAcom) June 27, 2026

Meanwhile, in Egypt's match against Iran, which ended in a 1-1 draw, Salah made his fifth start in the FIFA World Cup, becoming the first Egyptian to achieve this milestone, according to Opta Analyst. However, he played only 57 minutes, the least he has ever played in a World Cup match, previously having a low of 76 minutes against Belgium earlier this month. His request to be substituted in the second half raised concerns regarding his fitness.

After the match, Egypt's coach Hossam Hassan stated that Salah would undergo an assessment following his substitution request. The coach expressed that it was premature to ascertain the severity of the issue.

In an interview with beIN Sports, Hossam remarked, "He asked to come off. If a player asks to be substituted, it means he felt something. We will make sure what the problem is. We will assess him," he concluded.