Australia’s quest for World Cup glory faces a significant hurdle as they prepare to take on Egypt, an undefeated powerhouse in the knockout stages of this year’s tournament.
The Socceroos are set to go head-to-head with the Pharaohs in the Round of 32 match, which kicks off at 4 am AEST this Saturday. The Australian team is eager to secure their first-ever victory in the World Cup knockout stage.
They are well aware that the encounter in Arlington, Texas, is set to be anything but simple.
“They’re a formidable team… They have a strong camaraderie, having been together for a considerable time, which allows them to play with great unity,” noted Australian assistant coach Hayden Foxe when discussing the Egyptian team.
“It’s going to be a challenging match — we’ve been closely analyzing their games, both during the group stages and last night,” he added.
“It’s going to be an almighty game, an exciting challenge.”
Here’s everything you need to know about Australia’s rivals in their first knockout stage match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The Pharaohs are unbeaten in the 2026 World Cup
Playing in Group G against Belgium, Iran, and New Zealand, Egypt has yet to lose a match in this year’s World Cup.
They beat New Zealand and drew with both Iran and Belgium. In the process, they conceded three goals — one in each match — and scored five.
They secured second place in the group after drawing 1-1 with Iran in a dramatic match, in which a goal that would have handed Iran a victory was ruled out by VAR in stoppage time.
The Egyptians also emerged unbeaten from the qualifying rounds of the 2026 World Cup, winning eight and drawing two of those matches.
A first against the Socceroos
The knockout round match will be the first time Egypt and Australia have faced each other at the World Cup.
It’s also the first time the Pharaohs have advanced beyond the tournament’s group stage. They qualified for the World Cup in 1934, 1990, and 2018, but each time have failed to advance to the knockout stage.
Egypt also planned to play in the first-ever World Cup in 1930 in Uruguay — in which there were no qualifying rounds — but missed the tournament when a storm at sea delayed their departure.
The Mo Salah element
For the 2026 World Cup, Egypt has arrived with genuine star power.
Their captain, Liverpool winger Mohamed Salah, is widely regarded as one of the best players of his generation. In this year’s tournament, he’s already given two assists and scored a winning goal against New Zealand.
However, it’s not clear whether he’ll play in the match against Australia.
He came off in the 57th minute in the Egypt-Iran match and was later seen having his left leg bandaged.
The Egyptian football federation has confirmed the 34-year-old is suffering from a “hamstring injury” but has not announced whether he will be available for the match.
Even without Salah, the Pharaohs still pose a significant threat, with Manchester City forward Omar Marmoush leading the attack.
The 27-year-old played in his country’s first two matches and started their last match against Iran from the bench.
Among Egypt’s young talents is 18-year-old striker Hamza Abdelkarim, who plays for Barcelona Atlètic — FC Barcelona’s reserve team that competes in Spain’s third tier. He has so far featured for just seven minutes at this World Cup.
Unlike Salah, Marmoush, and Abdelkarim, most of Egypt’s US$188 million-valued ($208 million) squad play in the country’s local league.
“They’re a very good side — they have some real natural technical talent. They play kind of fearlessly, which is a typical African-Arab kind of way of playing football,” Foxe said.
“A lot of their players play in their local league, but their local league is strong.”
What are Australia’s chances against Egypt?
According to the latest official FIFA rankings, Egypt is ranked 26th, just two below Australia, and the match is expected to be close.
The Opta supercomputer, which forecasts outcomes of sports tournaments, has predicted that the Socceroos have a roughly 46 per cent chance of beating Egypt and securing their first knockout win in the tournament.
The two have played twice before, with Australia winning a President’s Cup match on penalties in 1987 and losing a friendly in Cairo 3-0 in 2010.
You can watch all 104 matches of the FIFA World Cup 2026™ live, free and exclusive on SBS, SBS VICELAND and SBS On Demand.