Egypt reached the round of 16 at the 2026 FIFA World Cup for the first time in the nation’s history after defeating Australia 4-2 in a penalty shootout following their round of 32 clash at Dallas Stadium on Friday.

Emam Ashour put the Egyptians ahead 10 minutes into the encounter when he headed home a cross from Karim Hafez from close range, and the Pharaohs managed to maintain the lead into the break.

However, the North African side lost the advantage inside the opening ten minutes of the second half when Mohamed Hany headed a free kick from Aiden O’Neil into the top right corner of his own net to bring the Australians back into the game.

Both teams went on to create chances but failed to convert them, forcing the match into extra time and eventually a penalty shootout after the scoreline remained the same following over 130 minutes of action.

Meanwhile, Egypt converted all their penalty kicks, while Australia missed two, as the Pharaohs secured a round-of-16 ticket and became the second African team to reach the stage at this tournament.

Egypt will face the winners of the round of 32 match between Argentina and Cape Verde later today.