Salah: Egypt made history with victory in the World Cup penalty shootout
Egypt made history by winning their first World Cup penalty shootout against Australia, progressing to the round of 16 with a 4-2 victory after a 1-1 draw.
Mohamed Salah said he and his teammates in Egypt made history by defeating Australia in a penalty shootout to qualify for the round of 16 of the World Cup. The two teams drew 1-1 after extra time at Dallas Stadium, with Emam Ashour's opener in the first half equalized by Mohamed Hany's own goal after the break. Harry Souttar and Lucas Herrington were unsuccessful in attempting a 12-yard shot for the Socceroos, while Hossam Abdelmaguid successfully scored the decisive shot, giving Egypt a 4-2 win. Thus, Egypt became the second African country in history to win the World Cup penalty shootout, after Morocco's victories (2022 against Spain and 2026 against the Netherlands). This is also the first time Australia and Egypt have participated in a penalty shootout at the World Cup - the first time the two countries have both participated in the same match since the round of 16 match between Denmark and Croatia in 2018. Speaking after winning the right to progress, Egyptian star Salah said: "This is history. I told the boys before the match that this is the biggest stage you can play on. Enjoy it and don't let the pressure affect you." I'm happy that we won the match, it's unfortunate for them. I'm happy that we wrote history today." Salah scored in the penalty shootout, showing confidence when taking a Panenka-style penalty. "If anyone's going to do it, it's going to be me!" Salah added. "I have more experience than the others and I wanted to give them confidence. I decided at the last minute I had to do it." Australian coach Tony Popovic decided to replace the goalkeeper just before the end of extra time, with Patrick Beach replaced by Mathew Ryan. This decision ultimately did not pay off, with Australia now eliminated from all three World Cup knockout matches - 2006 against Italy, 2022 against Argentina and 2026 against Egypt. When asked about his decision to change goalkeeper, Popovic said: "I think it was always an option for us with [Ryan's] experience. Then you have to see how the game goes, and sometimes in extra time players get injured and you need to make changes without a replacement, but we still have someone who can replace us with a few minutes left, and we put Matty on." Popovic also expressed pride in Souttar and Herrington after their missed shots. "This is not the time to think about that now. That time will come, I'm sure. I'm very proud of them," he added. "I haven't even thought about the players who missed penalties. Unfortunately, we have to go home and the World Cup is over for us."
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