Egypt prevailed on penalties against Australia to join the Round of 16 at the 2026 World Cup. Both teams were looking for a first-ever knockout stage victory, but they weren’t separated after 120 minutes. Emam Ashour scored his second goal of the tournament with an early strike before Mohamed Hany’s own-goal leveled matters ten minutes after the break.
Australia made a substitution before the penalty shootout as Tony Popovic preferred the experienced Mathew Ryan in place of the 22-year-old goalkeeper Patrick Beach, who has made a superb save to deny Egypt a late winner in normal time. However, none of the goalkeepers made saves in the shootouts, while center-backs Harry Souttar and Lucas Herrington failed to hit the target.
After penalty shootout heartbreaks against Senegal in AFCON final and the playoff for the qualification of the previous World Cup, Egypt finally managed to be in the winning side. They’re the second African team to join the next round, while Cape Verde and Ghana are about to face Copa America finalists Argentina and Colombia, respectively.
St. Pauli duo Jackson Irvine and Connor Metcalfe started the game for Australia as the country’s search for a maiden knockout stage continues. Egypt will face either Argentina or Cape Verde in the Round of 16.
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