Australia is set to take on Egypt in the World Cup’s Round of 32, following a nail-biting conclusion to the matches in Group G, where the Pharaohs secured the second spot.
Egypt clinched its position in the knockout stage on Saturday afternoon (AEST) by drawing 1-1 with Iran. However, their dreams of topping Group G were dashed when Belgium triumphed over New Zealand with a decisive 5-1 victory, surpassing Egypt on goal difference.
Consequently, Australia will square off against Egypt in the Round of 32 in Arlington, Texas, at 4 am AEST next Saturday. This encounter marks the first World Cup meeting between the two teams.
Uncertainty looms over whether Egypt’s star player, Mohamed Salah, will participate in this crucial match.
Salah, who has risen to prominence in the English Premier League following his 2017 signing with Liverpool, exited the match against Iran in the 57th minute after appearing to have sustained an injury, with his left leg seen bandaged.
Egypt coach Hossam Hassan said he remained optimistic.
“The doctor will write his report when we get back to the hotel and will carry out a second examination. I spoke with Salah and, God willing, the injury doesn’t seem serious,” Hassan said.
The Group G standings changed several times throughout the simultaneous matches, with Belgium, Iran and Egypt all sitting second in the group at various times.
In their match against Egypt, Iran scored a stoppage-time goal, which was ruled offside by VAR. Had the goal stood, Iran would have finished second and played Australia next Saturday.
They now face an agonising wait to see if they qualify as one of the top eight third-placed teams.
After a 1-5 defeat to Belgium, New Zealand finished last in the group with one point and were eliminated from the tournament.
‘Difficult game’
Former Socceroo Harry Kewell, speaking before the results were announced, told SBS that Belgium and Egypt looked to be the most dangerous of Australia’s opponents.
“Whoever we face, it’s always going to be a difficult game,” he said.
“Once you get through the group stages, which they successfully navigated through, it’s all about now.
“This is where you have to play your best football. This is where you have to strike when your chances are low, you’ve got to be able to be clinical, and hopefully we can do that and progress one step further.”
The challenge for the Australian side will be to play their best football with a couple of players out of action.
The Socceroos are down to a 24-player squad after the injured Jacob Italiano and Mathew Leckie left camp for Austria and Melbourne, respectively.
Italiano played against Türkiye and the United States but was injured at training, while Leckie hurt his hamstring in the side’s 2-0 defeat to the US.
Australia have played Egypt twice before, winning a President’s Cup match on penalties in 1987. They lost a friendly in Cairo 3-0 in 2010.
The Socceroos will be keen to claim their first-ever knockout win after falling short against eventual champions Argentina in the Round of 16 in Qatar.
The final World Cup group matches will be played on Sunday, Australia time.
— With additional reporting by Haylena Krishnamoorthy and Agence-France Presse.
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