The Egyptian national team reserved its qualification ticket to the round of 16 of the 2026 World Cup, after defeating its Australian counterpart on penalties with a score of 4-2, after the end of regular and extra time in a draw 1-1, in an exciting confrontation that extended until the last moments.
The Pharaohs entered the match strongly, and succeeded in opening the scoring early through Emam Ashour in the minute. 13, after he took advantage of a pass from Hafez and put the ball into the net, so that the Egyptian team finished the first half with a 1-0 lead.
In the second half, the Australian team returned to the atmosphere of the match, benefiting from an own goal, after Mohamed Hani had scored by mistake against the Egyptian team in the 55 minute, bringing the match back to the starting point.
And attempts by both sides continued during the remainder of the time. The original match then extended to two additional halves, but the result remained the same without new goals, so the two teams resorted to penalty kicks to decide the qualification ticket.
In the penalty shootout, the Egyptian team prevailed with a score of 4-2, after Saber, Rabia, Salah, and Abdel Majeed scored, while Soutar missed the first kick for Australia, scoring Irvin and Maybel, before Herrington missed the fourth kick, giving the Pharaohs a pass to the final 16.
With this victory, the Egyptian team continues its journey in the 2026 World Cup, after overcoming Australia in one of the most exciting round of 32 matches, to set a date with a new challenge in the round of 16, while the Australian team exited the tournament after a strong performance that ended in disappointment. In penalty kicks.