Egypt overcame Australia 4-2 in a penalty shootout to advance to the Round of 16 after a closely contested 1-1 draw in Dallas on Friday.
Australia 1-1 Egypt (2-4 PSO)
Australia goal: Hany own goal (55 mins) Egypt goal: Ashour (13 mins)
Egypt created fresh history in Dallas as they earned their first knockout win at a FIFA World Cup™ finals, beating Australia 4-2 on penalties after a 1-1 draw.
In their previous match, the Pharaohs had beaten New Zealand to record their first victory on the world stage. Now they are celebrating an Antipodean double after a shootout triumph secured by Hossam Abdelmaguid, after misses by Australia’s Harry Souttar and Lucas Herrington.
Egypt had gained an early lead in the game through Emam Ashour but Mohamed Hany’s second-half own goal meant a tight game went all the way to penalties with Hossam Hassan’s still-unbeaten side prevailing to set up a Round of 16 tie in Atlanta on 7 July against the winners of the Argentina v Cabo Verde tie.
The Socceroos nearly made the perfect start when Cristian Volpato hit the top of the crossbar with an early long-range strike yet. Instead they were soon trailing as Ashour struck in the second phase of a set-play after 13 minutes.
The midfielder’s own initial strike was charged down but when Karim Hafez crossed the ball back into the box, Ashour stooped to head in at the far post. The 28-year-old had not scored for his country before arriving in North America but now has two World Cup goals.
There was plenty of endeavour from a youthful Australia side but no clearcut chances and the challenge grew for them with a knee injury to full-back Jordan Bos that prompted his half-time replacement by Kai Trewin. That said, they had a let-off straight after the restart when Omar Marmoush raced clear but rolled the ball wide.
Tony Popovic’s team capitalised on that reprieve as their set-piece threat brought an equalising goal, Aiden O’Neill swinging in a free-kick from the left and Hany heading into his own net for his second own goal of the tournament.
Egypt would have won the game at the end of normal time but for a fantastic one-handed save by Patrick Beach to keep out Rami Rabia’s bullet header from a Mohamed Salah cross. Salah, passed fit amid concerns over a hamstring problem, then teed up Haissem Hassan for a shot foiled by a brilliant Souttar block.
Australia coach Popovic sent on substitute goalkeeper Mat Ryan in place of Beach just before the final whistle of extra tie but to no avail as Egypt converted all their kicks – including a nerveless Panenka effort by Salah.
Stat
Australia have played three knockout ties at World Cups and lost them all, going down to Italy (1-2) in 2006 and Argentina (1-2) in 2022 before succumbing to Egypt.
Superior Player of the Match
Mohamed Salah (Egypt)
What they said
“Today was one of the best days of my life, making history with my country. I tried to give my best and play when I’m hurt because this is what I do for the country. I’m proud of the boys … I always tell the boys, just enjoy the moment. We can’t take it for granted. I don’t know how many times we’ve qualified for the World Cup and never before have we qualified from the group stage and now we’ve qualified for the next round. It’s a moment to enjoy.” Mohamed Salah, Egypt forward
“We started well, taking the lead, and then they equalised. We knew it was going to be a tough match because they’re a very physical team, with a lot of endurance, and players who are very quick and powerful. We knew that at free-kicks and corners it was going to be difficult because they’re very big. [On winning] Honestly, it’s incredible, because you know that in Egypt there are 120 million people you’ve made happy today, and you know that today there will be celebrations across the whole country… For every player, when you’re a boy, you dream of ending up like this.” Haissem Hassan, Egypt midfielder
“It’s the toughest way to lose a game. We gave ourselves the best possible opportunity to do something no Australia team has done before but ultimately we’ve fallen short in a penalty shootout. I am so proud of every player especially the ones who had the heart to step up and taken those shots at the end. It is another step in a positive direction for this team, for Australian football. I have no doubt there are players in this dressing room who will be the ones who go on and take that next step … I thought we handled the game really well and limited their top players to not a great deal. Maybe we could have been a bit better with the ball especially in extra time but overall we managed the game pretty well.” Jackson Irvine, Australia midfielder
“Obviously we should be very proud of what we have done as a nation this tournament. I think it’s been a great tournament for us all as a country, and then also to showcase our young talent, also I think has been a great platform for the young ones to step up — and they have done that. So I think there’s a lot to take away from it.” Awer Mabil, Australia forward