Belgium 1-2 Egypt: Martinez's men beaten in final warm-up

Belgium's last warm-up game before the World Cup ended in defeat as Mostafa Mohamed and Trezeguet scored to give Egypt a 2-1 win in Kuwait.

Mohamed capitalized on an unusual error from Kevin De Bruyne to propel the Pharaohs ahead, before Trezeguet scored a minute after half-time to put them two goals ahead.

Lois Openda cut the deficit with a close range finish but they couldn't find an equalizer as Roberto Martinez's men fell to a second straight loss.

The defeat exposed serious defensive shortcomings for Belgium ahead of their trip to Qatar, where they hope to improve their run to the 2018 World Cup semi-finals.

Belgium hit the bar within 10 minutes when Michy Batshuayi shook the woodwork, although later replays showed the former Chelsea man clearly offside.

After Thibaut Courtois twice denied Trezeguet, Arthur Theate sent a looping long-range curler over the top of the net.

Mohamed put Egypt ahead, capitalizing on De Bruyne's poor touch before taking a wonderful side foot into the bottom right corner from outside the box.

Mohamed El Shenawy then made a big save to save Yannick Carrasco's ferocious drive and hold his team's lead before the interval.

Egypt doubled their lead moments after the break, Trezeguet hanging on to Mohamed Salah's excellent through ball before heading home as Belgium continued to look shaky at the back.

Martinez's men cried for a penalty when the Openda half-time substitute was brought down by Ahmed Hegazy, but a VAR review ruled against the kick.

Belgium scrambled to pull a goal back but struggled to break through Egypt's resolute defence, Youri Tielemans shooting well over the distance, almost in frustration.

They found a goal through Openda when spotted by a superb Carrasco cross, but they couldn't kick off and find an equalizer.

What does this mean? Belgium heading to the World Cup in poor form

Belgium are ranked second in the world by FIFA, but they were millions of miles behind the one against Egypt, both in attack and defense.

Martinez's men rarely threatened and finished the game with just 0.64 xG (expected goals). They also looked at a passive at the back despite holding 67.4% of possession as Egypt finished with a superior 0.76 xG.

Superb Trezeguet

Trezeguet was a constant threat and could have finished with more than just one goal had his finishing been more clinical.

The former Aston Villa player finished the game with four shots, all on target, as he topped his team in throw-ins in the Belgian box (three) and total xG (0.61).

Rare mistake by De Bruyne

Egypt were put on the path to victory by De Bruyne's heavy touch when there was seemingly no danger just outside his own penalty area, which Mohamed ruthlessly punished .

The Manchester City midfielder was knocked out at the break after a mediocre 45 minutes by his high standards, failing to register a shot or a throw-in in the Egyptian penalty area as his usual attacking production was missing.< /p>

What's next?

Belgium kick off their World Cup campaign against Canada on Wednesday, while Egypt's absence from the tournament means they won't be back in action until 2023.