Egypt defeat Australia on penalties to reach World Cup R16
What's the story
Egypt advanced to the Round of 16 in the 2026 FIFA World Cup after defeating Australia in a nail-biting penalty shootout. The match, played in Dallas, ended 1-1 after extra time. However, Egypt held their nerves in the shootout with a perfect record of four successful penalties against Australia's Mat Ryan. Here's more.
Match highlights
How did the match pan out?
Egypt took an early lead through Emam Ashour's header in the first half. However, Australia managed to level the score when Mohamed Hany accidentally turned the ball into his own net. Despite several attempts from both sides, including a missed opportunity by Omar Marmoush at the start of the second half, neither team could find a winner in regulation or extra time.
Shootout showdown
Egypt win their penalty shootout at World Cup
In the penalty shootout, Australia's Harry Souttar and Lucas Herrington missed their attempts. Meanwhile, Egypt converted all four of its penalties with Mohamed Salah scoring his spot-kick down the middle. The win was a major boost for Egypt as they had lost their last four shootouts before this match. With this victory, Egypt will now face either Argentina or Cape Verde in the next round of the tournament.
Do you know?
Egypt enter record books
As per Opta, Egypt are only the fifth African nation to progress past a World Cup knockout round after Cameroon (1990), Senegal (2002), Ghana (2010), and Morocco (2022 & 2026). Egypt also became the second African nation ever to win a World Cup penalty shootout, after Morocco's two triumphs (2022 v Spain and 2026 v Netherlands).
Information
Unwanted record for Egypt's Hany
Egypt's Hany scored the 13th own goal of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. It's now a record in a single edition, surpassing the 2018 tournament (12).
Twitter Post
Salah!
The fans have spoken – Mohamed Salah is your Superior Player of the Match! 👑#FIFAWorldCup #SuperiorPOTM pic.twitter.com/fm3FanvkIi
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) July 3, 2026