Egypt defeated Australia 4-2 in a penalty shootout in the Football World Cup, winning a knockout match for the first time. The match, played at Dallas Stadium on Friday night, ended in a 1-1 draw at regulation time. The scoreline did not change even in extra time, after which the decision was made by a shootout.
On Tuesday, Egypt will face Argentina, who survived the scare against Cape Verde in Miami. Argentina will play their RO16 match in Atlanta after edging past their opponent in a gritty match that was played in Miami. Records galore for Lionel Messi as he became the first-ever player to record 20 goals in the FIFA World Cup. Moreover, he also surpassed Diego Maradona to become the top assist leader (9) in football WC history.
Argentina briefly survive Cape Verde scare in Miami, records aplenty for Messi
Reigning champions Argentina narrowly avoided one of the all-time great upsets as they beat Cape Verde 3-2 in one of the best matches in recent World Cup history.
Sidny Lopes Cabral scored a remarkable goal when he curled a shot past Emiliano Martinez to draw Cape Verde level after Lisandro Martinez’s strike in extra time. But Cristian Romero broke Cape Verde hearts when his deflected header went in.
Lionel Messi opened the scoring in the first half, moving clear of Kylian Mbappé and into outright first place in the race for the Golden Boot, before Deroy Duarte’s strike forced the game into extra time.
Lionel Messi was left disappointed after missing chance to score a goal against Cape Verde (Credits: Reuters)
Lionel Messi amasses another set of records in RO32 clash, tears up during match
Messi continued to be the driving force for success within the Argentina national team. He scored the opening goal of the round of 32 match against Cape Verde, breaking the 0-0 draw in the 29th minute.
He’s now scored in eight consecutive World Cup matches and extended his lead as the highest goalscorer in men’s World Cup history to 20. At 39 years old, Messi is tied with Kylian Mbappé in the 2026 World Cup Golden Boot race.
Messi dominated the opponent throughout the field with one goal, nine total shots and the assist to the game-winning goal. Lionel Messi is now the Top assister in World Cup history, by overtaking legendary Argentine striker Diego Maradona. Currently, Messi’s assist tally in the FIFA World Cup now stands at 9 assists.
The Argentine legend also broke into tears after his team scored the decider in extra time to secure the lead against gritty Cape Verde, who pushed Messi and his team to limits.
Australia’s penalty blunder, shootout specialist goalkeeper saves no goals
Australia’s captain, Harry Souttar, shot the first penalty over the goalpost. 18-year-old Lucas Harrington’s shot also hit the crossbar. From Egypt, Mahmoud Saber, Ramy Rabia, Mohamed Salah, and finally Hossam Abdelmaguid converted their penalties into goals, securing victory for their team. For Australia, only Jackson Irvine and Awer Mabil were able to score.
After losing the match, Australian goalkeeper Ryan sat down on the field in disappointment.
Australia’s young goalkeeper Patrick Beach made several saves in regulation. He also stopped Ramy Rabia’s header and Mohamed Salah’s attempt. However, he was surprisingly substituted by experienced goalkeeper Mathew Ryan, who came onto the field in the final phase of extra time. Despite coming out as penalty specialist for Australia, Royam could not stop all four of Egypt’s penalty shots in the shootout.
Egypt players watched Kylian Mbappé’s penalty goal against Australian goalie
Egypt’s technical staff showed their players footage of Kylian Mbappé’s successful penalty against Australian goalkeeper Mathew Ryan from an earlier club match to study the keeper’s movements. The tactical preparation paid off, as Egypt subsequently defeated Australia in a World Cup penalty shootout to advance to the Round of 16.
The footage shown to the Egyptian squad was from Real Madrid’s match against Levante, where Mbappé scored from the spot. Australian coach Tony Popovic subbed on Mat Ryan right before the shootout ended in Dallas, but the strategy failed as Egypt successfully converted their penalties against the veteran goalkeeper.
Mo Salah, moved to tears at Egypt’s advancement, scored penalty with a risky ‘Panenka’
While taking the third penalty for Egypt after both teams finished 1-1 in 120 minutes, Salah pulled off the risky Panenka shot to score the penalty instead of hitting quickly in the corners. Instead of aiming for the corner, Salah coolly dinked a Panenka down the middle and beat substitute goalkeeper Mat Ryan, who had replaced Patrick Beach for the shoot-out.
Asked about his bold choice of penalty afterwards, Salah said: “If somebody was going to do it, it would be me. I am more experienced than others, and I wanted to give them confidence. I decided [in the] last minute; I don’t know if it’s my last World Cup or not, but I had to do it.”
What is a Panenka shot in football?
A “Panenka” is a cheeky and audacious penalty kick technique where the player softly chips the ball down the exact centre of the goal, deceiving the goalkeeper, who usually dives to the left or right.
The technique is named after Czechoslovakian midfielder Antonín Panenka, who famously invented and executed it on the world’s biggest stage. During the 1976 UEFA European Championship final, his country’s penalty shootout against West Germany came down to his final kick. Expecting a powerful shot, the German goalkeeper dove to his left, while Panenka gently scooped the ball into the middle of the empty net, winning the tournament for Czechoslovakia.
Egypt coach raises Palestinian flag after win
Egypt head coach Hossam Hassan raised the Palestinian flag and dedicated his side’s historic FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 32 victory over Australia to the Palestinian people after the Pharaohs reached the Round of 16.
Hassan celebrated with the Palestinian flag before reiterating his support for Palestinians during his post-match media interaction. “My heart and soul are with them,” coach Hossam Hassan said of Palestinians, praying that “God have mercy on their martyrs,” according to a video shared by Drop Site on X.
He added, “I dedicate this victory to the Egyptian people and to the good and generous Palestinian people.” The emotional tribute came after Egypt recorded the biggest World Cup knockout victory in their history, progressing beyond the first elimination round for the first time.
