Salah Inspires Egypt to Historic First-Ever World Cup Win Over New Zealand

• Mohamed Salah’s second-half masterclass ends Egypt’s 92-year wait for a World Cup victory as the Pharaohs move top of Group G

Mohamed Salah finally banished his personal and national World Cup demons on Sunday night, inspiring Egypt to a stunning 3-1 comeback victory over New Zealand at BC Place Stadium in Vancouver. The win marked Egypt’s first-ever victory in World Cup history after eight previous matches without a single win across three tournament appearances, dating back to their debut in 1934. The triumph propelled coach Hossam Hassan’s team to the top of Group G with four points from two matches, placing them in a strong position to qualify for the knockout stage for the first time in their history. The Pharaohs, who had drawn 1-1 with Belgium in their opener, now need just a draw against Iran in their final group match to secure progression.

New Zealand, searching for their own first-ever World Cup victory after a winless 2010 campaign where they drew all three matches, stunned the red-clad Egyptian supporters packed into the 54,500-seat stadium. Defender Finn Surman rose above the Pharaohs’ backline in the 15th minute, powering home a flying header from Tim Payne’s corner kick to give the All Whites a surprise 1-0 lead. The early goal left Egypt disoriented, and despite efforts from Salah and Omar Marmoush to create chances, the first half ended with New Zealand maintaining their advantage. Salah had one promising opportunity in the 35th minute when Marmoush dropped a free kick to him, but his shot went just wide and bent into the side netting. The half-time scoreline carried additional significance—it marked the first time Egypt had ever been behind at the interval in a World Cup match. Egypt goalkeeper Mostafa Shobeir kept his side alive with an outstanding save to stop Callum McCowatt’s close-range header from doubling New Zealand’s advantage, while Egypt’s Hamdy Fathy was substituted late in the first half after an apparent injury away from the ball.

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Egypt emerged from the break with renewed intensity after manager Hossam Hassan made crucial positional adjustments, allowing Salah more freedom to connect with surrounding players. The tactical shift paid dividends when Mostafa Zico—named after the great Brazilian player—broke through with the equalizer in the 58th minute, finding space between Surman and Payne to head home Mohamed Hany’s cross from the right, beating goalkeeper Max Crocombe despite the keeper getting a hand to it. The goal marked Zico’s third international strike in just his fourth cap. Just nine minutes later, Salah delivered his moment of magic, as the 34-year-old Liverpool icon, who recently announced he is leaving the club this summer, exchanged a quick one-two with Zico in the area before cutting inside and slotting a precise low strike past Crocombe to give Egypt a 2-1 lead in the 67th minute. Salah celebrated his 68th international goal by pumping his fist before being mobbed by teammates, and when he was substituted off in the 85th minute, the sellout crowd rose to give him a standing ovation. Trezeguet sealed the historic victory in the 82nd minute, diving to power home a superb header from Salah’s outswinging corner, and the result could have been even more emphatic, but Crocombe produced a great save deep into added time to deny Zico a fourth goal. Egypt defender Hossam Abdelmaguid had to be replaced late on with a suspected concussion, his eye swelling up as he left the field.

The victory holds profound significance for Egyptian football, as before Sunday night, the Pharaohs had played eight World Cup matches across four tournaments—in 1934, 1990, and 2018—recording only three draws and five defeats. Egypt became the first African team to qualify for the World Cup in 1934 but had never won a match in the finals until now. For Salah, the triumph marked redemption after years of World Cup heartbreak, as in 2018 he faced a race against time to recover from injury and could only manage a consolation penalty in a 3-1 loss to Russia, followed by a missed sitter in a humiliating defeat to Saudi Arabia, and four years later, Egypt failed to qualify for Qatar entirely. After a quiet opening display in Egypt’s 1-1 draw with Belgium and a slow first half against New Zealand, the Egyptian King finally delivered when it mattered most, stating after the match: “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.” Egypt coach Hossam Hassan celebrated by lapping the stadium with an Egyptian flag as an ear-splitting roar went up from the fans, and Salah now sits just one goal away from tying his coach for the national team’s all-time scoring lead.

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The victory leaves Egypt in pole position in Group G with four points, while Belgium and Iran both have two points following their scoreless draw earlier in the day, and New Zealand sits at the bottom with one point. Egypt currently lead the group with four points and a goal difference of +2, having scored four goals, while Iran sits second with two points and a goal difference of 0, having scored two goals, Belgium is third with two points and a goal difference of 0, having scored one goal, and New Zealand is fourth with one point and a goal difference of -2, having scored three goals. Egypt can seal qualification with a point against Iran in its final match of Group G, while a loss followed by a Belgium win against New Zealand could push them down to third, but that could still be enough to progress as one of the eight-best third-place teams. New Zealand, meanwhile, must beat Belgium in their final match at BC Place to maintain any hope of progressing.

Salah Inspires Egypt to Historic First-Ever World Cup Win Over New Zealand

Tunisia, two others eliminated from 2026 World Cup

Tunisia became the latest casualty of the 2026 FIFA World Cup on Sunday after a crushing 4-0 defeat to Japan confirmed their elimination from the tournament, joining Haiti and Turkey among the first nations to crash out of the global football showpiece.

The North Africans’ hopes of reaching the Round of 32 were extinguished at the Estadio Monterrey in Guadalupe, where Japan delivered a dominant performance to leave the Carthage Eagles rooted to the bottom of Group F without a point from two matches.

Having suffered a humiliating 5-1 defeat to Sweden in their opening fixture, Tunisia entered the encounter against Japan needing a positive result to keep their qualification hopes alive.

However, another heavy loss ensured they became the third team to be mathematically eliminated from the competition.

With zero points and a significantly inferior goal difference, Tunisia can no longer catch the teams occupying the qualification spots in the group, regardless of the outcome of their final match.

The result means Haiti and Turkey, who had earlier been knocked out of the tournament, are no longer alone in making an early exit from the expanded World Cup.

Tunisia will now play for pride when they take on the Netherlands in their final Group F fixture in the coming days.

The early elimination represents a disappointing campaign for the Carthage Eagles, who arrived at the tournament hoping to improve on previous World Cup performances but instead endured back-to-back heavy defeats that brought their challenge to a premature end.

Deniz Undav’s Stoppage-Time Brace Sends Germany Into World Cup Round of 32 After 2–1 Win Over Ivory Coast

Germany came from a goal down to defeat Ivory Coast 2-1 in their 2026 FIFA World Cup Group E encounter at Toronto Stadium, thanks to Deniz Undav’s dramatic winner deep in added time. In the first-ever competitive meeting between both sides, the Germans overcame a determined Ivory Coast side that matched them for long stretches of the match. The African nation went ahead through captain Franck Kessie in the first half before a second-half collapse to the Europeans. However, substitute Deniz Undav turned the game on its head with two clinical finishes in a match where Ivory Coast failed to take their chances before Die Mannschaft scored the late winner.

Ivory Coast took control of the match in the first half when captain Franck Kessie blasted in a rebound in the 30th minute, giving the African side a deserved lead following a lively start. The goal came after Yan Diomande sent in a cross to forward Amad Diallo, whose shot was blocked by Germany’s Nathaniel Brown, but the ball bounced back to Kessie, who slotted it into the wide-open left corner of the net. Germany had two goals disallowed in a frustrating first half. The first came in the 21st minute when Ivory Coast goalkeeper Yahia Fofana batted the ball into his own net, but Germany midfielder Aleksander Pavlovic made illegal contact with Fofana on the play. The second came in the 38th minute when Jamal Musiala was called for a foul in the buildup to what would have been a Kai Havertz goal.

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With Germany trailing and struggling to break down Ivory Coast’s resolute defense, coach Julian Nagelsmann made a triple substitution around the hour mark, bringing on Deniz Undav, Nadiem Amiri, and Jamie Leweling. The decision proved inspired. Just eight minutes after coming on, Undav leveled the score in the 68th minute. Amiri delivered a precise long ball that Kai Havertz cleverly let run through to Undav, who slammed home the equalizer from close range. Ivory Coast goalkeeper Yahia Fofana produced multiple saves in the latter stages to keep the Elephants in the encounter, but could not do anything about the winner four minutes into added time. Undav received a pass from Felix Nmecha in front of the net, controlled expertly, and rifled it past Fofana to complete his brace and break Ivorian hearts.

“You can see that the players who come off the bench can decide games. Now we have a really important signal to the team. I think that’s very important in a game like this,” Undav said after the match. Nagelsmann added: “Deniz is someone who doesn’t need to be prepared, he can jump in right away”. Germany collected six points from two Group E matches, secured sole possession of first place, and clinched a spot in the World Cup knockout stage. The Germans advanced from the group stage for the first time since 2014, when they went on to win their fourth World Cup title. They had suffered disappointing group-stage exits in 2018 and 2022. The victory extended Germany’s winning streak to 11 matches, dating back to September 2025. Ivory Coast, who beat Ecuador 1-0 in their opener, now have three points from two matches and face a must-win final group match against Curacao to keep their hopes of a first-ever knockout-stage appearance alive. Curacao’s hard-fought draw against Ecuador brought about its first point in the World Cup, setting up a dramatic final matchday in Group E.

Deniz Undav’s Stoppage-Time Brace Sends Germany Into World Cup Round of 32 After 2–1 Win Over Ivory Coast