When you take a right off of 30th Avenue in Astoria, Queens, onto Steinway Street, you're met with the sight of many an Egyptian flag.
The golden Eagle of Saladin hangs among the likes of Algeria, Tunisia, and many other Arab nations' flags outside of store fronts and in restaurant windows.
The normally-lively area around Steinway is home to many of Astoria's Arab, Greek, Latin-American and Asian residents. Today, however, the street is awash in a sea of red soccer jerseys adorned with golden lettering. The reason? Egypt's first World Cup match since 2018.
At Laza Dessert Cafe, customers watched over coffee and pastries. A few blocks away, fans crowded around a television set outside of Al Dar Halal Market. Across Astoria's Little Egypt neighborhood, New York Egyptians came out in droves to show their support as 29th-ranked Egypt took on 10th-ranked Belgium in Seattle, Washington.
Al Ahly midfielder Emam Ashour struck first to put Egypt ahead of the Red Devils in the 20th minute of the match. For 50 blissful minutes, Egyptian fans held out hope that they would witness their country's first-ever win at a World Cup.
It wasn't meant to be, as within 20 seconds of subbing in for Charles De Ketalaere, Belgium's veteran striker Romelu Lukaku forced an own goal to tie the match.
Egypt were unable to find a way to retake the lead, and the match ended in a draw, the second draw of a day that would become only the second time in World Cup history that there were four draws in a single day, according to ESPN Insights.
Despite the draw, Egyptian fans took to the street in celebration. A young fan outside Al Dar Halal Market burst open a confetti popper at full time, with several more fans following his lead as they beat on riqs, traditional Egyptian tambourines. Nearby, a group of girl proudly took pictures in their Egyptian jerseys.
"We're obviously happy," one of the girls, Suzan, told the New York Soccer Journal. "We're happy that its a draw. Of course, everyone wants their team to win, but we're grateful."
Outside Hayati Lounge, Cairo-native Hassan plays the darbuka alongside Nobi, who came to New York in 2016 from Luxor. Both men share in the excitement of Egypt's performance, hopeful for Egypt's chances in their next group stage match against New Zealand.
Hassan plays the darbuka to celebrate Egypt's tie with Belgium.
"[Our] players played so good," Nobi said. "It was a nice game, and we hope next time they play more better. We're going to win the match next time, Inshallah."
There are things to improve upon such as the team's confidence, he says, but overall, he believes they played very well. Hassan adds that Belgium was Egypt's hardest opponent in their group and that they now stand a better chance against New Zealand and Iran because of it.
A car drives past, with several girls leaning out the windows waving the Egyptian flag as more darbuka blasts from the speakers. The lounge patrons are quick to join in their cheering, clapping to the beat of the drums alongside dozens of others on the street.
"America here has something for everybody," Hassan said as the celebrations continued around him. "Everybody is so happy about what we're doing here, and thank God we had a good game today with everyone in the team. I hope we have everyone remember what we're doing in America here for soccer."
The lounge, a hookah spot known for their smoothies and desserts, has been a hub for Astoria soccer fans since its opening in 2024. While Hayati has been showing all World Cup matches, the energy has been unmatched when an Arab nation is playing.
Egypt's first match was a crowded affair, nearly the entire space packed with hopeful fans while many more stood outside hoping for a glimpse of the match. The lounge expects even more fans to stop by as Arab countries continue to impress in the tournament.
"[The World Cup] brings us all together," one of the managers of the lounge, who hails from Yemen, said. "It's a good time. We have a lot of tourists coming from Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Qatar...[I hope] to meet new people, to bring people closer. There's a lot of crazy stuff going on in the world. I would hope this will bring peace and friendship."
