Egypt secured their first-ever FIFA World Cup win with a brilliant comeback victory over New Zealand.
New Zealand led Egypt 1-0 at half-time of their Group G clash. All Whites captain Finn Surman headed in from Tim Payne’s corner after 15 minutes to put NZ ahead. Both sides drew their openers – NZ 2-2 with Iran and Egypt 1-1 with Belgium – and a win today will take the victor top of the group by one point. The three points for Egypt lift them ahead of the draw between Belgium and Iran, and set them up to reach the knockout stage in their historic first #WorldCup victory.
The Nile Pharaohs made a dream debut on the global stage in style, bouncing back after going behind early in the match to secure a famous 3-1 victory over their New Zealand counterparts, with a second-half hat trick from prolific winger Mohamed Salah.
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Despite being pegged back on the scoresheet, Salah then ignited his team with some dazzling footwork and pinpoint passing, providing goals from range for striker Mostafa Mohamed and substitute Trezeguent. New Zealand’s defensive stalwart Finn Surman did find the target but couldn’t prevent an Egyptian triumph, which sees the North Africans into the next round at the expense of their opponents.
All Whites finish Football World Cup run on a sour note after a disappointing 3-1 defeat against Egypt in Vancouver, Canada on Monday afternoon. 15th-minute goal: The All Whites had taken the lead against Egypt thanks to an unexpected goal from defender Finn Surman. The Portland Timbers centre-back’s header into Egypt’s goal from a corner took the score to one for New Zealand in the game – making it their only goal of the match andSurman’s third in total for the All Whites.
The 15-year-old’s contribution was Surman, who has played for longer and received more minutes for New Zealand’s national team than all of the players within The All Whites squad following qualification to the World Cup, as expected due to the defender’s all-round attributes and defensive skills rather than his offensive talents.
New Zealand adopted a straightforward approach throughout the first half, kicking long when necessary and holding on to the ball when possible, and Finn Surman opened the scoring from a corner in the 20th minute, outmuscling Egypt defender Ahmed Fatouh to score a dominant header into the back of the net. The All Whites may have had a slightly weaker attacking approach and could have added a header early in the second half, but could have only been pushed down by Callum McCowatt as keeper Marwan Salah stretched the header over. Nevertheless, Egypt pushed to their maximum to tie things in the 58th with a Mostafa Ziko header off a Mohamed Hany cross to the right, which pulled the two nations even in terms of score.
To cap off his spectacular arrival, Salah rewarded the enthusiastic stadium nine minutes later in the 67th minute by bursting from his position on the right wing and linking with a talented pass from Mostafa Ziko before ultimately striking a fierce header into the far corner of the goal to snatch back a one-goal lead for the Pharoes.
Salah narrowly avoided securing a second goal on the scoreboard in the 81st minute when the forward was denied by a deflected shot that flew across the upper region of the bar. Though he did not add another to his own name in terms of goals on the scoreboard, Salah was also able to provide an assist to Mohamed Trzeguet on the subsequent corner that proved enough to place the opposition’s number of points one greater than New Zealand’s.
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