World Cup 2026: Egypt returns to the round of 16 after 92 years of waiting

Conquering Pharaohs in the First Half

Egypt once again turned in a convincing first half performance, just as they did against Belgium (1-1) and Iran (1-1) in the first round of this World Cup. The Pharaohs immediately went on the attack against the Australians and created real scoring chances in the first fifteen minutes.

It was Emam Ashour, having an excellent World Cup, who struck first with a powerful header to open the scoring in the 13^th minute, registering his second goal of the tournament after the one against Belgium—and in doing so, scoring Egypt's first World Cup goal since 1934 and their lost round-of-16 match against Hungary (2-4, with Abdelrahman Fawzi scoring twice).

This was also Egypt's second best start to a match in their 2026 World Cup campaign, after Iran (5^th minute) and Belgium (20^th). It’s evidence that the seven-time African champions have maintained consistent performance in this aspect of the competition. But a small lapse in concentration would cost them in the second half.

Mohamed Hany, the Eternal Unlucky One

Egypt put Australia under pressure in the first half and came very close to doubling their lead at the start of the second period, with a huge miss from Omar Marmoush, who has yet to score in this World Cup. A few minutes later, the Pharaohs were punished.

From a set-piece, the Socceroos capitalized on an unfortunate header by Mohamed Hany to equalize (55^th). It was the right back from Al Ahly’s second own goal of the competition after the one against Belgium. Hit by their opponent’s equalizer and forced to dig even deeper, the Pharaohs gritted their teeth and stood strong to hold on to the draw until the final whistle of stoppage time.

No strangers to extra time in the Africa Cup of Nations, Egypt maintained an impressive level of intensity in extra time, and even came close to breaking Australia’s resistance—saved several times by their defense, especially Harry Souttar and their goalkeeper Patrick Beach.

Argentina or Cape Verde in the Round of 16

So the match was decided on penalties, and once again, Hossam Hassan kept his trust in young Mostafa Shobeir (23 years old), who also plays for Al Ahly in the Egyptian domestic league. And even though he didn't have to make any saves, he unsettled the Australians, who missed two of their shots.

Afterwards, Egypt was flawless, with a panenka by Mohamed Salah sealing the win (4-2) and thus securing qualification for the round of 16. Their next opponent will be Argentina or Cape Verde, who face each other later tonight (10 p.m. GMT).