I walked through the High Museum of Art here in Atlanta this morning and stood before Kehinde Wiley's *Portrait of a Young Gentleman* — all that regal swagger and colour, which is exactly what De Bruyne brings to a football pitch. Belgium's midfield will simply conduct this match at their own tempo, with Onana doing the disciplined dirty work that allows De Bruyne to paint freely in the final third. Egypt carry a genuine threat through Salah and Marmoush — those two can wound anyone on a fast break — but their defensive structure looks brittle enough that Belgium's attacking waves will eventually overwhelm them.

Belgium's midfield engine — and De Bruyne pulling strings through the center — gives them a structural advantage Egypt simply cannot match in the middle third, and Onana's athleticism behind him provides exactly the defensive cover that lets Belgium commit bodies forward with confidence. Egypt will find pockets on the break, and with Salah and Marmoush operating in tandem up front, they carry genuine counter-punching threat that could sting Belgium on a transition — I'm backing them for one here. Atlanta's a wonderful city, and I actually attempted a proper peach cobbler this week — technically not a pastry in the European tradition, but I couldn't resist, and it turned out surprisingly well for a man whose hands are trained for Butterkuchen.