World Cup: Egypt eliminate Australia 4-2 on penalties, reach Last 16

Egypt earned their maiden FIFA World Cup knock-out match win after beating Australia 4-2 in penalties following a 1-1 deadlock in regular extra-time play, thus qualifying for the Round of 16 clash between either Argentina or Cape Verde.

It was the defender Hossam Abdelmaguid who scored the winning penalty for his side after the Australia pair of Harry Souttar and Lucas Herrington failed to score from the spot.

The Pharaohs got off to an ideal start in the match that was being played at the Dallas Stadium after they scored the opening goal against the run of play in the 13th minute when Emam Ashour scored a header from Karim Hafez’s cross.

The goal not only gave the Egyptians an early lead but the goal from Ashour, who scored twice in the World Cup, took Egypt above the number of goals they have scored in the previous World Cups held in 1934, 1990, and 2018, scoring six goals in this World Cup.

The Australians came close to scoring in the very beginning of the game as Cristian Volpato struck the crossbar with a long-range shot.

Their best chance in the first half came from Aziz Behich, but the defender was unable to get the better of the Egyptian goalkeeper Mostafa Shobeir from close quarters.

The Egyptians could have doubled their lead straight away in the second half as Omar Marmoush raced clear before shooting just wide of the target.

The Aussies took advantage of the lapse from the Egyptians in the 55th minute, as Mohamed Hany inadvertently scored an own goal from Aiden O’Neill’s free kick, and became the second player in World Cup history to score two own goals in one single competition.

Australia were able to escape an unbelievable scare in added time after Australian goalkeeper Patrick Beach made an incredible save to prevent Ramy Rabia’s header from Mohamed Salah’s cross.

Salah, who had made a comeback after getting back from a slight hamstring worry, also provided another scoring chance for Haissem Hassan, but Souttar managed to make an important tackle.

As both the teams were unable to score in extra time, the match came down to penalties where Egypt remained cool under pressure.

Salah scored in the shootout as well as helped Egypt win one of the most historical matches of their lives to qualify for the Round of 16 of the World Cup.