Egypt knock out Australia on penalties at World Cup
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- Egypt advanced to the World Cup round of 16 via a 4-2 penalty shootout over Australia, with Hossam Abdelmaguid firing home the decisive kick and Mohamed Salah converting with a dinked effort down the middle after inducing Mathew Ryan to commit early.
- Harry Souttar sent Australia's opening penalty over the bar and Lucas Herrington hit the crossbar, with Egypt goalkeeper Mostafa Shobeir not needing to make a save on either miss.
- Coach Tony Popovic's decision to swap in Mathew Ryan for shootout specialist-in-waiting Patrick Beach became an immediate flashpoint, as neither keeper was told the plan beforehand and Beach had prevented 2.65 goals at the tournament per ESPN Global Soccer Research — more than any other keeper.
- Australia has now gone more than five hours without an outfield player scoring at this World Cup, with their last goal from a Socceroo coming from Connor Metcalfe in the 2-0 win over Türkiye and their equalizer against Egypt arriving via Mohamed Hany's own goal.
- Egypt advanced from a World Cup knockout tie for the first time in their history, prompting celebrations in Cairo and giving Mohamed Salah a signature international moment despite playing most of the match hampered by a hamstring injury.
- Australia's hunt for a first-ever World Cup knockout win now extends to at least another four years, with their previous two exits (Italy 2006, Argentina 2022) both coming against teams that went on to win the tournament.
Why it matters: Australia's third shot at a maiden World Cup knockout win ended not against a champion but against an Egypt side missing much of Salah's influence — meaning the Socceroos will spend the next cycle reconciling a controversial goalkeeping switch, a five-plus-hour scoring drought, and tactical choices that left the match there for the taking in Dallas.
