The Pharaohs rush to winning penalty scored Hossam Abdel-Maguid
* Ghana exit with lessons after narrow 0-1 defeat against Colombia
Maravi Express
Egypt reached the Round of 16 of the FIFA World Cup™ 2026 FIFA after beating Australia 4-2 on penalties following a tense 1-1 draw — while Ghana exited with lessons after narrow 0-1 defeat against Colombia.
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The Pharaohs took an early lead through Emam Ashour, but Australia forced extra time after Mohamed Hany headed into his own net in the second half.
Neither side could find a winner in extra time, although Egypt created the better chances and finished the stronger team.
Mahmoud Saber, Rami Rabia, Mohamed Salah and Hossam Abdel-Maguid all scored from the spot for Egypt, while Jackson Irvine and Awer Mabil converted for Australia.
Harry Souttar and Lucas Herrington missed for the Socceroos as Egypt secured one of the greatest nights in their World Cup history.
Egypt will face Argentina, who beat Cape Verde in a match that the Blue Sharks came from behind twice and were minutes away from going into penalties before succumbing to an own goal.
For African football, it was another major moment at the tournament, with Egypt joining Morocco among the teams from the continent to reach the Eound of 16.
Australia almost shocked Egypt in the fifth minute when Cristian Volpato struck a powerful effort against the crossbar.
But Egypt responded quickly and took control of the early stages. The breakthrough came in the 13th minute when Karim Hafez delivered a perfect cross from the left and Ashour rose strongly to head past the Australian goalkeeper.
It was a confident finish from the midfielder, whose influential overall performance in both attack and defence won him the man-of-the-match award.
Egypt then chose to protect their lead, staying compact and trying to limit Socceroos’ threat, who had more shots in the first half, but Mostafa Shobeir was alert when required, including in the 35th minute when he held a powerful effort from Aziz Behich.
Egypt had a major chance to double their lead immediately after the restart when Mustafa Zico released Omar Marmoush, who found himself one-on-one with the goalkeeper, but the forward dragged his shot narrowly wide of the post.
That miss proved costly as Australia equalised in the 55th minute from a set-piece situation when Hany, trying to clear a dangerous free-kick delivery, headed the ball past Shobeir and into his own net.
The goal changed the rhythm of the match and gave Australia renewed belief — forcing coach Hossam Hassan to make changes, introducing Hossam Abdel-Maguid and Haitham Hassan for Zico and Hamdi Fathi, before Mahmoud Hassan Trezeguet replaced the injured Karim Hafez.
Egypt gradually regained control and pushed for a late winner.
In extra time, Egypt were the more dangerous side. Salah and Haitham Hassan both threatened, while Australia defended deep and tried to survive until penalties.
The 4-2 shootout win sparked celebrations among the Egyptian players and supporters as it gave the Pharaohs a historic qualification in their 4th World Cup appearance.
Egypt had played in the old last-16 format in 1934, when the tournament involved only 16 teams, but failed to progress from the group stage in 1990 and 2018.
This current squad has now written a new chapter by advancing through the expanded modern World Cup knockout system.
Egypt’s win over Australia was built on discipline, patience and mental strength. They had to recover from the frustration of an own goal, missed chances and the pressure of a knockout shootout.
But they held their nerve when it mattered and for African audiences, the result strengthens the continent’s presence in the latter stages of the competition and gives Egypt a platform to dream even bigger.
The Pharaohs have already made history — now they have the chance to chase something greater.
As for Ghana, the defeat against Colombia brought the Black Stars’ journey to an end, but leave them with reasons to build — they reached the knockout stage, showed defensive discipline in parts of the tournament and produced one of their strongest performances in the goalless draw with England.
In their match last night, Colombia’s Jhon Arias scored the only goal of the match in the 14th minute, finishing powerfully after Luis Suarez delivered from the right.
The South Americans controlled long periods of the contest and will now face Switzerland in the next round.
It was a frustrating end to a campaign for Ghana, that had promised more after Carlos Queiroz’s side reached the knockout stage from Group L.
The Black Stars competed physically and stayed in the match until the end, but they struggled to create enough clear chances against a disciplined and experienced Colombian side.
Coach Queiroz tried to change the momentum by introducing attacking options, including Abdul Fatawu Issahaku, Elisha Owusu and Ernest Nuamah — but Ghana’s build-up remained too slow and predictable.
Partey came closest to an equaliser in the 69th minute when his effort went just wide of the left post, but Colombia’s defence stayed organised and protected goalkeeper Camilo Vargas from sustained pressure.
The Black Stars had possession in moments, but they lacked sharpness in the final third. Colombia, by contrast, continued to look more dangerous whenever they attacked.
Sanchez almost scored with a header in the 81st minute, Quintero fired narrowly wide in the 84th, and Richard Rios sent a stoppage-time header just past the post.—Reporting by CAFonline; editing by Maravi Express
Knockout stages results
* South Africa 0-1 Canada
* Jordan 1-3 Argentina
* Brazil 2-1 Japan
* Germany 1(3)-Paraguay 1(4)
* Netherlands 1(2)-Morocco 1(3)
* Côte d’Ivoire 1-2 Norway
* France 3-0 Sweden
* Mexico 2-0 Ecuador
* England 1-2 DR Congo
* Belgium 3-2 Senegal
* USA 2-0 Bosnia & Herzegovina
* Spain 3-0 Austria
* Portugal 2-1 Croatia
* Switzerland 2-0 Algeria
* Australia 1(2)-1(4) Egypt
* Argentina 3-2 Cape Verde
* Colombia 1-0 Ghana
Round of 16
Saturday
* Canada v Morocco (19h00)
* Paraguay v France (23h00)
Sunday
* Brazil v Norway (22h00)
* Mexico v England (02h00)
Monday
* Portugal v Spain (21h00)
* USA v Belgium (02h00)
Tuesday
* Argentina v Egypt (18h00)
* Switzerland v Colombia (22h00)
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