Egypt Defeats Australia to Reach Round of 16; All Asian Teams Eliminated

[Anchor]

At the North and Central America World Cup, Egypt has advanced to the round of 16 after defeating Australia in a penalty shootout. With Australia's exit, all nine nations representing Asia have been eliminated from the tournament.

Reporter Seo Dae-won has the story.

[Reporter]

Egypt broke the deadlock just 13 minutes into the first half.

Ashour connected with a cross from Hafez on the right flank, heading the ball in to score the opening goal.

However, Egypt conceded an equalizer in the 10th minute of the second half following an own goal by defender Mohamed Hany during an Australian free-kick opportunity.

The tense match extended through 90 minutes of regulation and extra time, eventually heading into a nerve-wracking penalty shootout, where missed shots by Australian players decided the outcome.

For Australia, the first kicker sent the ball well over the goal, and the fourth kicker hit the crossbar. In contrast, all four of Egypt's kickers succeeded. Superstar Mohamed Salah, stepping up as the third kicker, boldly chipped a Panenka kick into the center of the goal, once again proving his class.

With a 4-2 victory in the shootout, Egypt reached the round of 16, marking another historic milestone by advancing past the group stage for the first time and securing their first-ever knockout stage win.

Salah, who displayed great fighting spirit despite a hamstring injury, was moved to tears.

[Mohamed Salah / Captain of the Egypt National Football Team: Today is one of the best days of my life. We made history with the team, and I tried my best to play even with the injury. That is what I have to do for my country.]

With Australia's elimination, all nine nations from the Asian Football Confederation have been knocked out.

Seven teams, including South Korea, failed to pass the group stage, while Japan and Australia were eliminated in the round of 32.

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Colombia defeated Ghana 1-0 with a winning goal from Arias to join the round of 16.

Colombia will face Switzerland for a spot in the quarterfinals.

(Video Editing: Ha Seong-won)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.