Egypt has advanced to the Round of 16 after defeating Australia in a penalty shootout, marking the nation's first-ever victory in a FIFA World Cup knockout stage match.

In the 2026 North and Central America World Cup Round of 32 match held at Dallas Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on July 4 (KST), Egypt played to a 1-1 draw with Australia through regulation and extra time before winning the subsequent penalty shootout 4-2.

With this result, Egypt celebrated its first-ever win in a single-elimination World Cup match.

Egypt was defeated in its first match of the 1934 tournament, which featured only 16 teams in a knockout format, and was eliminated in the group stages of the 1990 and 2018 World Cups.

Having secured a historic spot in the Round of 16 in their return to the tournament after eight years, Egypt will face the winner of the Argentina-Cape Verde match in Atlanta on July 8 for a place in the quarterfinals.

Australia, whose best World Cup performance remains reaching the Round of 16 twice (2006 and 2022) in six previous appearances, failed to advance past the first round of the knockout stage once again.

With Australia's exit, all teams from the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) have been eliminated from the tournament.

Nine AFC nations participated in this year's tournament, which saw the field expanded to 48 teams.

Seven countries, including South Korea, were eliminated in the group stage, while Japan and Australia reached the Round of 32 but were knocked out by Brazil and Egypt, respectively.

Egypt, led by captain Mohamed Salah—considered one of the world's top attackers—alongside Omar Marmoush, opened the scoring in the 13th minute.

Following a free kick, Karim Hafez delivered a cross from the right flank, which Imam Ashour headed into the net.

While Egypt converted its only shot on target (out of three total shots) in the first half, Australia struggled to capitalize on its six shots, including one on target. However, Australia equalized 10 minutes into the second half thanks to an own goal.

A free kick sent in from the left by Aiden O'Neill deflected off the head of Egyptian defender Mohamed Hany, who had jumped alongside Australian players, and went into the goal.

This marked Hany's second unfortunate own goal of the tournament, following one in the group stage opener against Belgium.

With the match still deadlocked after 90 minutes and no goals scored in extra time, Australia made a tactical move in the 14th minute of the second half of extra time, substituting goalkeeper Patrick Beach with veteran Mathew Ryan in anticipation of the penalty shootout.

However, missed shots by Australian players ultimately decided the outcome.

Australia's first kicker, Harry Souttar, sent his shot over the bar, and the fourth kicker, 18-year-old defender Lucas Herrington, saw his right-footed shot hit the post and go wide.

Meanwhile, Egypt's first four kickers—Mahmoud Saber, Ramy Rabia, Salah, and Hossam Abdelmaguid—all successfully converted their penalties to secure the victory.

(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)