From 1934 to 2026: The inside story of Egypt’s 92 year wait for a World Cup win

21.06.26 FT World Cup

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Egypt

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This Monday 22 Jun in Vancouver, a brilliant second half tactical shift completely transformed the Pharaohs' fortunes in the 2026 World cup.

Despite dominating the Africa Cup of Nations with a record 7 titles and being the first African and Arab nation to ever reach the global stage, success at this specific tournament has notoriously eluded them.

Entering their fourth historic appearance, the pressure to finally deliver 3 point was immense.

The agonizing 92 year wait

The historical timeline is filled with heartbreaking near misses. Back in 1934 in Italy, Abdulrahman Fawzi netted twice against Hungary to level the match, only for the team to suffer a 4-2 defeat in the Round of 16.

Decades later in 1990, Magdi Abdelghani’s famous late penalty rescued a draw against the Netherlands in Palermo but a scoreless draw against Ireland and a narrow defeat to England meant another early exit.

The 2018 campaign in Russia brought even more agony. After losing to Uruguay and Russia, despite Mohamed Salah opening his tournament account, they finally secured their first ever World Cup lead against Saudi Arabia.

Salah struck in the 22nd minute but a Salman Al-Faraj penalty and a devastating 95th minute winner from Salem Al Dawsari left the North Africans empty handed once again.

Turning the tide in North America

The current 2026 campaign started with another bitter pill. Emam Ashour unleashed a spectacular 19th minute rocket against Belgium, only for an unfortunate own goal by Mohamed Hany to force a 1-1 draw.

The ghosts of the past seemed to linger when they fell behind early today to New Zealand.

However, this squad completely refused to repeat history. Trailing for over 40 minutes, Hany redeemed himself by providing the crucial assist, which Ziko capitalized on perfectly, resulted in the equalizing goal.

Salah & Mahmoud Trezeguet then took absolute charge in the final third, completing a masterful 3-1 triumph and erasing decades of disappointment in what was incredibly their ninth-ever match at the finals.

Khaled Hegazy |

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Journaliste sportif spécialisé dans la couverture du football et la création de contenu numérique, alliant expérience éditoriale et expertise des médias sociaux.

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