World Cup
Salah and De Bruyne face World Cup duel after Premier League reigns
Mohamed Salah and Kevin De Bruyne meet in the World Cup quarter-final as captains of Egypt and Belgium. The showdown shifts from northwest England to Seattle.
The two players have clashed in the Community Shield, Champions League and Carabao Cup but their rivalry is rooted in the Premier League. Both are widely regarded as the division’s best players of the last decade.
Salah scored 257 goals and provided 122 assists for Liverpool. De Bruyne recorded 108 goals and 170 assists for Manchester City. The Belgian matched the Premier League assist record with 20 in a single season, later surpassed by Bruno Fernandes.
Salah remains joint top for goal contributions in a single campaign with 47—29 goals and 18 assists—in his penultimate Liverpool season. Their respective teams recorded seasons of 100, 99, 98 and 97 points under Pep Guardiola and Jürgen Klopp.
Belgian squad braces for possible star player departure during World Cup
Salah was named Footballer of the Year in 2018 and 2022, while De Bruyne claimed the award in 2022 and 2025. Both won PFA Player of the Year in 2018, 2022 and 2025. Neither secured a Ballon d’Or, partly due to Lionel Messi’s dominance and limited Champions League success. Salah exited his first final through injury; De Bruyne missed two finals with a similar fate. De Bruyne finished third with Belgium at the 2018 World Cup and admitted in 2022 that the golden generation’s title hopes were over. He remains active despite the departure of Eden Hazard, Vincent Kompany and Toby Alderweireld. Salah’s World Cup record includes a 2018 shoulder injury against Sergio Ramos and Egypt’s failure to qualify in 2022. The 2026 edition offers his best chance to lead Egypt’s first World Cup victory. The quarter-final could showcase Salah’s trademark pace and left-footed strikes alongside De Bruyne’s long-range passing and crossing ability.