After nearly a century of heartbreak and near-misses across nine World Cup appearances, Egypt has finally secured its first ever victory at football’s biggest global tournament, spearheaded by national icon Mohamed Salah who delivered a defining second-half performance to sink New Zealand in a 3-1 Group Stage clash.
The match got off to a rocky start for the Pharaohs, as New Zealand stunned the favorites with an early opening goal, and Salah looked set to continue a run of quiet, underwhelming performances that had marked his start to the 2026 World Cup. The 34-year-old superstar had turned in an ineffectual shift in Egypt’s opening 1-1 draw with Belgium, and remained off the pace through the first 45 minutes against New Zealand, leaving fans fearing his long history of World Cup misery would stretch on.
But Salah flipped the script in spectacular fashion in the second half. In the 67th minute, he fired home the goal that put Egypt ahead, capping a patient comeback from the early deficit. Later, his perfectly delivered corner kick found the head of Trezeguet, who netted the sealing goal to lock in the historic 3-1 result. The win puts Egypt on the cusp of qualifying for the knockout round, with a point from their final Group Stage fixture against Iran all but guaranteeing a spot in the round of 16, and the side could even progress without picking up that point depending on other results.
For Salah personally, the moment was years in the making. His first World Cup appearance in 2018 was marred by injury, a disjointed campaign, and three straight defeats that ended with Egypt crashing out in the group stage. The fallout from that failure was so severe that Salah publicly criticized the Egyptian Football Association for mismanaging preparations, and reports emerged that he had considered stepping away from international football entirely. Egypt then failed to qualify for the 2022 Qatar World Cup, extending both the country’s and Salah’s wait for a breakthrough on the global stage.
Off the pitch, the forward is coming off a turbulent final season at Liverpool, where he fell out with manager Arne Slot before announcing his departure this summer, with his future club still unconfirmed. Despite that off-field uncertainty, Salah prioritized his national team’s World Cup run, determined to correct the mistakes and disappointments of the past. Ahead of the New Zealand match, Egyptian head coach Hossam Hassan was even forced to deny public speculation of a rift between himself and Salah, after substituting the star early in the Belgium draw.
Sunday’s strike was Salah’s 68th international goal for Egypt in 118 appearances, moving him just one goal behind Hassan’s all-time national scoring record. Industry figures and pundits were quick to praise the superstar’s impact. Former Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou, commentating for ITV, noted: “If there was any doubt about Mo’s impact on this team, you can still see it. It will give them enormous belief. They had to deal with adversity and their big player stood up and that will give them big confidence. You need your big players to perform to progress.” Former Jamaica international winger Jobi McAnuff echoed that sentiment, adding: “Just when he was needed, Mo Salah stood up for his country.”
Salah’s status as a national icon in Egypt cannot be overstated – far beyond his stardom in European club football, he is a cultural institution in his home country, with every touch of the ball drawing roars from the stands and massive pressure on his shoulders every time he pulls on the national jersey. His importance to the side is so profound that when he suffered a serious shoulder injury in the 2018 Champions League final just weeks before that year’s World Cup, Egypt’s Minister of Health personally reached out to the national team medical staff to check on his condition. “I even had calls from Egypt’s Minister of Health,” recalled Dr Mohamed Aboud, the Egyptian national team medic.
Though Salah has claimed multiple domestic and European trophies during his time at Liverpool, he has never lifted a major title with Egypt. The generation before his claimed three straight Africa Cup of Nations titles between 2006 and 2010, but Egypt has fallen at the final hurdle twice in recent AFCON tournaments, losing the 2017 final to Cameroon and the 2021 final (held in early 2022) to Senegal. With this landmark World Cup win, however, Egypt has finally laid to rest one of its longest-running football ghosts, and Salah has cemented his legacy as the man who delivered the country’s most coveted milestone in nearly a century.
Speaking after the final whistle, Salah kept his focus on the task ahead: “It’s a great achievement for all the players. It’s a great win. It’s a great vibe. The next game is very important.”