Egypt broke new ground, beating Australia on penalties to reach the last 16 at the World Cup

Egypt made history on Friday when they beat Australia 4-2 on penalties after a 1-1 draw after extra time to reach the round of 16 at the FIFA World Cup for the first time.

Hossam Abdelmaguid calmly converted the winning penalty after Australia had missed two of their free-kicks to seal a momentous victory for the Pharaohs.

Australia vs Egypt, FIFA World Cup 2026: Highlighting

Emam Ashour put Egypt ahead after 13 minutes when Karim Hafez’s cross netted the home side’s 250th goal of the tournament. Australia responded 10 minutes into the second half when Mohamed Hany inadvertently headed Aiden O’Neill’s dangerous free-kick into his own net for his second own goal of the tournament.

Egypt held their nerve in a shootout to secure their first ever World Cup knockout victory and will now face the winner of Friday’s round of 32 tie between defending champions Argentina and World Cup debutants Cabo Verde in Atlanta on Tuesday.

(more to follow)

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Issued by:

Amar Panicker

Published on:

04 Jul 2026 02:37 IST