Egypt Advances to Round of 16 After Thrilling Penalty Shootout Against Australia, Featuring Mohamed Salah's Panenka and Mohamed Hany's Historic Own Goals

Penalty drama in Dallas! Mohamed Salah and his teammates overcame a resilient Australian side to secure a spot in the Round of 16. Egypt's right-back Mohamed Hany experienced a historically significant own goal, twice over.

Mo Salah and his colleagues showed nerves of steel in a penalty shootout: Egypt has celebrated a historic achievement, reaching the Round of 16 after their first knockout stage victory in World Cup history. The seven-time African champions, managed by Hossam Hassan, defeated Australia 4-2 on penalties (1-1, 1-1) in the Round of 32 on Friday, earning their ticket to the top 16 teams. They are likely to face World Cup champions Argentina and Lionel Messi in Atlanta next Tuesday.

During the match, Egypt's right-back Mohamed Hany unfortunately scored a historic own goal. In the 55th minute, Hany put the ball into his own net, not only leveling the score for Australia at 1-1 but also forcing extra time at the end of the 90 minutes. This was Hany's second own goal in this World Cup, having also scored against his own goalkeeper in the 1-1 draw against Belgium in their first group stage match.

According to data provider Opta, Hany is now only the second player in World Cup history to score two own goals in a single World Cup tournament. This feat was previously achieved only by Ivan Vutsov at the 1966 World Cup. The Bulgarian scored own goals in a 0-3 loss to Portugal and a 1-3 loss to Hungary.

Hany's misfortune against Australia was historic in another aspect as well: it was the 13th own goal of the 2026 World Cup – more than any previous World Cup. The previous record of twelve own goals was set in the 2018 World Cup.

Mohamed Hany Was Briefly Dazed Minutes Before His Own Goal

Moments before his own goal, Hany had caused a brief moment of shock. After a collision with Australia's Connor Metcalfe in his own penalty area, the 30-year-old from Egyptian top club Al Ahly remained dazed on the pitch at the start of the second half. After a short period of treatment, Hany continued playing.

The Round of 32 encounter against Australia was Hany's 46th international appearance. The defender is a guaranteed starter for Egypt at the World Cup; he also provided an assist in their 3-1 victory over New Zealand in their second group stage match.

Against Australia, Emam Ashour had given Egypt the lead in the 13th minute. After Hany's own goal, the score remained 1-1 even after extra time, necessitating a penalty shootout.

Egypt and Salah Defeat Australia After a Long Battle

For the Socceroos, who had generated a massive hype back home by advancing from the group stage, the dream of their first knockout stage success unfortunately did not come true.

Egypt achieved an initial success before the kickoff: captain Salah, who had been substituted against Iran (1-1) with a thigh strain, was declared fit in time and started in the lineup. However, he did not manage to score another goal to draw level with the Egyptian record goalscorer – current national coach Hassan (69 goals).

Former Bundesliga professional Omar Marmoush played as the central striker from the start. Australia began with the St. Pauli duo Jackson Irvine and Connor Metcalfe.

Australia initially retreated into their own half but transitioned rapidly after winning possession. Cristian Volpato narrowly missed a dream start, with the 22-year-old's shot from around 25 meters hitting the crossbar (5th minute). Then came the early shock: after a free-kick, Karim Hafez crossed the ball into the box, where Ashour headed it home – the height advantage of the Australians, which had been discussed beforehand, was nullified by poor positioning.

Egypt remained the dominant team, largely playing in the opponent's half. Australia's counter-attacks rarely posed a genuine threat after their lively start; Aziz Behich's shot (35th minute) was also no problem for goalkeeper Mostafa Shobeir. Volpato (45+1) sent a shot wide of the far post.

Seconds after the restart, Marmoush missed a golden opportunity to score the second goal. Unmarked, the former Frankfurt player sent the ball wide of the goal from about ten meters. This proved costly: Hany unfortunately deflected a free-kick into his own net.

After that, the game became a grind. The match increasingly lacked highlights. At times, it became hectic and physical. Only in the final phase of regular time did the game offer more. In stoppage time, Ramy Rabia had a chance to win it for Egypt with a header, but was denied by Australia's goalkeeper Patrick Beach. Extra time was largely uneventful. Both teams shied away from taking ultimate risks.

All 13 Own Goals So Far in the 2026 World Cup

Own Goal Scorer	Match	Result
Damian Bobadilla	USA vs. Paraguay	4:1
Miro Muheim	Switzerland vs. Qatar	1:1
Mohamed Hany	Egypt vs. Belgium	1:1
Ayman Hussein	Norway vs. Iraq	4:1
Yazan Al-Arab	Austria vs. Jordan	3:1
Mohamed Al-Mannai	Canada vs. Qatar	6:0
Cameron Burgess	USA vs. Australia	2:0
Hassan Al-Tambakti	Spain vs. Saudi Arabia	4:0
Abduvokhid Nematov	Portugal vs. Uzbekistan	5:0
Sultan Al-Brake	Bosnia and Herzegovina vs. Qatar	3:1
Bono	Morocco vs. Haiti	4:2
Ellyes Skhiri	Tunisia vs. Netherlands	1:3
Mohamed Hany	Egypt vs. Australia	5:3 A.E.T.