World Cup 2026: Multiple records for the Pharaohs after their win over New Zealand

21.06.26 FT World Cup

New Zealand

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Egypt

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Egypt clinched, in the night from Sunday to Monday, their first victory of this World Cup edition by defeating New Zealand 3-1 in the second round of the group stage.

Trailing in the first half, Hossam Hassan's men showed real character to turn the game around and secure a crucial win. With this result, the Pharaohs now stand alone at the top of Group G with four points, ahead of Iran and Belgium, while New Zealand sits at the bottom with just a single point.

Beyond the three points and first place in the group, this win was marked by a series of records and historic feats for the Egyptian national team.

A historic night for the Pharaohs

According to statistics published by the specialist account "Stats Foot", Hamza Abdel Karim (18 years and 171 days old) became the youngest African player ever to take part in a World Cup victory for his national team.

Egypt also made history by becoming the first African nation to win a World Cup match after trailing, since Tunisia's comeback against Panama in 2018.

For his part, Hossam Hassan became the first manager to deliver victories for the Pharaohs both at the World Cup and in the Africa Cup of Nations.

Against New Zealand, Egypt also scored three goals in a single World Cup match for the very first time in their history.

Finally, Mohamed Salah became Egypt's all-time top scorer at the World Cup with three goals, surpassing Abdelrahman Fawzi's previous record of two.

(Video) History made in Vancouver: Egypt break a historic World Cup drought with a 3-1 comeback

Mohamed Rek |

Editorfr, ar, en

Mohamed Rek- sports content writer with over 10 years of experience creating football content in Arabic and French for platforms such as Foot Africa and Starafrica, combining accuracy, creativity, and audience engagement.

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