It took a penalty shootout for Egypt to beat Australia and reach the FIFA World Cup Round of 16, during which the Pharaohs excellently adjusted after an unexpected late tactical switch from the Socceroos.
Mohamed Salah and Egypt marked their maiden World Cup knockout appearance by defeating Australia on penalties after a 1-1 draw after extra time. Despite Australia’s head coach, Tony Popovic, opting to substitute his goalkeeper for the shootout, Egypt converted all four penalty kicks with confidence.
Egypt may have encountered difficulties with the Dallas PD before Friday’s game, but they were elated after booking a Round of 16 match against Argentina or Cape Verde. However, a quick-thinking response may have proved decisive.
Australia has relied on 22-year-old goalkeeper Patrick Beach throughout the World Cup, with veteran option Mathew Ryan serving as backup on the bench. Beach produced eight saves during a 2-0 victory over Turkey in the group stage opener, and the Melbourne City shot-stopper has been impressive.
Yet, as extra time drew to a close and penalties loomed, Popovic chose to introduce Ryan for the shootout. The veteran has stopped 12 penalties during his career and has recently been playing in La Liga, as per The Mirror US.
The substitution presented a danger, as there is precedent at the World Cup of replacement goalkeepers winning shootouts, most notably Tim Krul for the Netherlands. That scenario didn’t materialize against Egypt, which swiftly responded to the tactical adjustment.
The Egyptian squad immediately started studying the recent spot kicks that Ryan has dealt with as a Levante keeper in La Liga. Among those penalties was one from Real Madrid‘s Kylian Mbappe, who dinked it straight down the center and found the net.
Egypt not only executed flawlessly from 12 yards, but Salah took a page from Mbappe’s playbook with his panenka down the middle. Salah was spotted grinning at Ryan as the ball rippled the mesh.
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“If somebody was going to do it, it would be me,” Salah said post-game. “I am more experienced than others, and I wanted to give them confidence. I decided last minute, I had to do it.”
The strategic gamble by Australia head coach Popovic backfired, with two central defenders also stepping forward to take penalties and failing to convert. Australia had performed admirably at the World Cup and secured second place behind the U.S. Men’s National Team to progress out of Group D, yet squandered a golden chance.
When Popovic was questioned about his choice to switch goalkeepers at the close of regulation, he acknowledged it was a premeditated move. “I think that was always an option for us…you’ve got to see how the game plays out…we still had one available, and we put Maty on,” he said.
Though it proved devastating for Australia, Egypt has now extended its finest World Cup campaign in the nation’s history. Salah was overcome with emotion after the final whistle and said, “It’s history. I told the boys before the game that this is the biggest stage you can play on.
“Enjoy it and don’t let the pressure get to you. I’m glad that we managed to win the game, bad luck for them. I’m happy that we wrote history today.”
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