Published
Jun 22, 2026 at 01:52 AM EDT
Mohamed Salah entered the 2026 FIFA men’s World Cup with a grounded mindset.
“I think we just need to focus on our camp and just train hard, and we’ll see in the group,” Salah said, per ESPN. “We want to make the people proud, and we’ll do our best.”
Maybe that was just good media training, or maybe it was the honest thoughts of a man who had sort of relinquished hope of experiencing World Cup glory.
It was a Salah goal that qualified Egypt for its first World Cup since 1990 in October 2017, but The Pharaohs lost all three group stage matches at the 2018 men’s World Cup in Russia. Then, Egypt failed to qualify at all in 2022.
But now, in his second and what could be his final World Cup, Salah revived hope with a brilliant performance against New Zealand at BC Place in Vancouver on Sunday, June 21.
New Zealand put Egypt into an early 1-0 hole with a 15th-minute goal by Finn Surman, but Mostafa Zico equalized in the 58th minute. Then, the Mo Salah Show begun.
Salah scored in the 67th minute and assisted on Trezeguet’s 82nd-goal to seal a 3-1 comeback victory — Egypt’s first-ever win at a World Cup.
“What happened today is history for us, as Egyptians,” Salah told the press after being named Man of the Match. “It seems to other teams, it’s okay, it’s fine. You see a lot of teams win games, but, for us, as Egyptians, it’s like, it doesn’t happen often.”
The Pharaohs opened their 2026 World Cup with a 1-1 draw with Belgium — yes, Salah scored then, too — and shockingly sit atop Group G with 4 points.
It’s always a joy to watch Salah perform in high-stakes situations. Liverpool fans just relished in it for nine years. And we may all get to witness it in the coming days.
According to The Athletic, Egypt now has “over a 99% chance” to advance to the knockout stage and a 61% chance to win Group G. Egypt has only reached the World Cup knockout stage once in its history, and it was all the way back in 1934.
Egypt will look to wrap up the group against Iran at Lumen Field in Seattle on Friday, June 26.
