The Pharaohs reach the Round of 16 for the first time since 1934. Salah’s cheeky Panenka-style penalty and misses from Souttar and Herrington prove decisive.
DALLAS — It took 120 minutes and a penalty shootout, but Egypt wrote a new page in their history. On spot kicks, the Pharaohs beat Australia 5-3 to reach the Round of 16 of the 2026 World Cup, where they will face the winner of Argentina vs. Cape Verde. It’s a milestone Egypt hadn’t reached since 1934.
Ashour breaks the deadlock, Hany turns it into his own net
In Arlington, the match sparked into life after a quarter of an hour: in the 13th minute, a free kick from the left allowed Hafez to whip in a cross that found the head of Emam Ashour, who steered it home to put Egypt ahead. Tony Popovic’s Socceroos responded but struggled to find a way through, despite hitting the crossbar early on through Volpato.
The equalizer did come, though through misfortune for the Africans. In the 55th minute, from another Australian free kick, Mohamed Hany inadvertently deflected the ball into his own net — the second own goal of the tournament for the Egyptian defender, following a similar incident against Belgium.
No goals in extra time, penalties decide it
Egypt’s late push wasn’t enough to avoid extra time: in the 94th minute, Beach produced a stunning save to deny a Rabia header, while early in extra time Salah wasted a golden chance set up by Marmoush, blazing over the bar from a promising position. The scoreline held, and the match went to penalties.
Before the shootout, Australian coach Popovic made the bold call to bring on substitute goalkeeper Ryan in place of a in-form Beach. The gamble didn’t pay off: the first to miss was Andrew Souttar, who blazed over the bar. Salah, by contrast, was ice-cool from the spot, chipping a delicate Panenka down the middle to beat the goalkeeper. Young Nestory Herrington’s effort also went begging, cannoning off the crossbar. Abdelmaguid then stepped up to send Ryan the wrong way and complete the 5-3 shootout win, sparking wild celebrations among the Pharaohs.
A historic qualification
This marks only the second time Egypt has reached a World Cup knockout round, following their 4-2 defeat to Hungary all the way back in 1934. It caps a group stage in which Hossam Hassan’s side recorded their longest unbeaten run in the competition’s history (three matches) and picked up their first-ever World Cup group-stage win.
For Australia, the tournament ends in heartbreak after a toothless finish in front of goal — the Socceroos failed to score in their final two group matches and now exit the Round of 32 despite a gutsy display against one of the tournament’s form teams.
Next up: the winner of Argentina vs. Cape Verde
With the win, Egypt book their place in the Round of 16, where they’ll face the winner of Argentina vs. Cape Verde on Tuesday, July 7 (6:00 PM local time, in Atlanta). Salah and his teammates head into the next round in fine attacking form, having already scored five goals in just three matches this tournament.
Australia (5-4-1): Beach; Behich, Circati, Souttar, Herrington, Bos (46′ Trewin); Volpato, Irvine, O’Neill, Metcalfe; Irankunda. Coach: Popovic.
Egypt (4-2-3-1): Shobeir; Hany, Ibrahim, Rabia, Hafez; Fathi, Ateya; Ashour, Salah, Marmoush; Zico. Coach: Hossam Hassan.