Belgium and Egypt send Kdb, Salah to Seattle showdown
kdb is heading to Seattle as Belgium meet Egypt to open Group G at the World Cup. Kevin De Bruyne and Mohamed Salah will captain their countries in a game that turns a club rivalry into an international one. For both, it is another meeting after years of crossing paths in England and Europe.
Seattle brings De Bruyne and Salah back
The matchup puts Belgium and Egypt on the same stage in Seattle, with De Bruyne and Salah again at the center of it. The two have met in the Community Shield, the Champions League and the Carabao Cup, but this one carries more weight because it comes with national-team responsibility rather than club shirts.
De Bruyne began just two league games for Chelsea. Salah scored two goals for Chelsea. Those early numbers explain why their later careers mattered so much to their reputations.
City and Liverpool changed the story
Salah scored 257 goals and provided 122 assists for Liverpool. De Bruyne scored 108 goals and provided 170 assists for Manchester City. Those totals are the kind of output that turned both into Premier League reference points rather than just former Chelsea prospects.
De Bruyne equalled the Premier League record for assists in a season with 20 before Bruno Fernandes passed it. Salah produced 47 goal contributions in one Premier League season, including 29 goals and 18 assists, in his penultimate campaign at Anfield. Liverpool also reached seasons of 100, 99, 98 and 97 points during that period.
Two stars, one ceiling
Both players were named Footballer of the Year in 2018, 2022 and 2025. Both were named PFA Player of the Year in 2018, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2025. Each won one Champions League, but neither got close to winning the Ballon d'Or.
Chelsea may be relieved if De Bruyne and Salah never come head to head again, and Jose Mourinho showed a reluctance to start either player there. Seattle gives them one more chance to answer the same old question in a new setting: which of the two defined the Premier League era more completely?
