Mohamed Salah approached the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup with a focused mindset. He emphasized the importance of training and performing well in the group stage. Salah expressed a desire to make Egyptians proud and stated, “We want to make the people proud, and we’ll do our best.”
Salah’s commitment was evident as he played a key role in leading Egypt back to the World Cup stage. Egypt, qualifying for their first World Cup since 1990 due to Salah’s efforts, struggled in the 2018 tournament and missed out on qualification in 2022. Now, in what may be his final World Cup, Salah reignited hope with an outstanding performance against New Zealand.
In a match held at BC Place in Vancouver, New Zealand initially led with a 15th-minute goal by Finn Surman. Mostafa Zico equalized for Egypt in the 58th minute. Salah then dominated by scoring in the 67th minute and assisting Trezeguet’s 82nd-minute goal, securing a 3-1 victory. This marked Egypt’s first-ever World Cup win.
“What happened today is history for us, as Egyptians,” Salah remarked after being named Man of the Match. He highlighted the significance of the win for the Egyptian team, considering their limited World Cup success.
Egypt had previously opened their 2026 World Cup campaign with a 1-1 draw against Belgium, with Salah scoring in that match as well. Currently, Egypt leads Group G with 4 points, positioning themselves favorably to advance. According to The Athletic, Egypt possesses over a 99% chance to progress to the knockout stage and a 61% chance to win Group G.
Historically, Egypt has reached the World Cup knockout stage only once, back in 1934. They aim to solidify their position as they face Iran at Lumen Field in Seattle on Friday, June 26.
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