In Arlington, Texas, Mohamed Salah led Egypt to a historic victory in the World Cup knockout round. This marked Egypt’s first win in the elimination stage of the tournament. Salah, despite uncertainties about his future participation in World Cups, played a crucial role in this achievement.
Hossam Abdelmaguid secured Egypt’s victory by scoring the decisive goal in a penalty shootout against Australia. The match ended in a 1-1 draw, leading to penalties where Egypt triumphed 4-2. Australia’s goalkeeper, Mathew Ryan, failed to stop any of Egypt’s four penalty shots after he replaced starter Patrick Beach during extra time.
This victory came in Egypt’s fourth World Cup, the first held with an expanded 48-team format. Australia, on the other hand, remains winless in knockout rounds.
Looking ahead, Egypt will compete against either Argentina or Cape Verde in the round of 16 in Atlanta.
“Me feeling today is that it’s incredible,” said Mohamed Salah, the 34-year-old former Liverpool player. Salah is one goal behind national coach Hossam Hassan’s Egyptian record of 69 international goals. “I always like seeing the boys happy and enjoying the moment. Nothing can match that. So today was one of the best days of my life.”
Harry Souttar missed the first penalty for Australia by shooting high, while Lucas Herrington’s fourth attempt hit the crossbar. This set up Abdelmaguid for the clinching goal.
Abdelmaguid, who had not scored internationally in 15 appearances, calmly placed the ball low to the left as Ryan leaped right. The home of the Dallas Cowboys witnessed a jubilant celebration among 70,244 fans, many clad in Egyptian red.
Egypt’s coach, Hossam Hassan, expressed his feelings through a translator. “I was only thinking about the Egyptian fans. During the entire time and during the penalty shootout, I was just praying, ‘God, please make the Egyptian people happy,'” Hassan shared.
Penalty shootout scorers for Egypt included Mahmoud Saber, Ramy Rabia, and Salah, who played the entire match despite a recent hamstring injury.
Emam Ashour had given Egypt the lead with a 13th-minute header. Australia equalized when an unfortunate own-goal by Egypt’s Mohamed Hany came in the 55th minute. Hany had previously scored an own-goal against Belgium in the group stage, a unique occurrence in World Cup history.
Australia’s Tony Popovic, reflecting on the defeat, stated, “It hurts when you get that close. Unfortunately, we bow out in a penalty shootout, so it’s difficult to take right now.”
Despite being replaced late in the game, Australia’s young goalkeeper Patrick Beach had an impressive match, making significant saves that kept his team in the fight. Omar Marmoush nearly extended Egypt’s lead early in the second half, and Beach held off aggressive attempts from Salah and Rabia late in the game.