Egypt are 45 minutes away from Olympics elimination after failing to convert their first-half chances against Belarus at Hampden Park.
The African nation need to win in order to progress to the next round, while a point would be enough for Belarus provided Brazil beat New Zealand in Newcastle.
With victory essential, it was little surprise that Egypt were the more attacking side, but they were wasteful in front of goal, squandering several chances.
Mohamad Salah was twice guilty of missing the target from good positions, while teammate Meteab Emad also shot wide.
When Emad did find his radar, he was denied by a smart save from Aleksandr Gutor in the Belarus net.
