Australia 1-1 Egypt (Egypt win 4-2 on penalties): Mohamed Salah's iconic panenka penalty sends the Pharaohs into last 16

Egypt secured their spot in the last-16 stage of the 2026 World Cup courtesy of a penalty-shootout success over Australia on Friday.

Emam Ashour sent Egypt ahead in the 13th minute of the contest, but an own goal from Mohamed Hany levelled it up early in the second period.

Neither side could find a second in the remainder of the match, including extra-time, meaning that penalties were required to determine a winner.

Egypt were perfect from the penalty spot, including a panenka from Mohamed Salah, while Australia missed two of their four efforts.

Salah put in a man-of-the-match performance for his national team to help them secure a position in the next round, potentially setting up a battle with a certain Lionel Messi.

Australia 1-1 Egypt (Egypt win 4-2 on penalties): What just happened?

?? Mohamed Salah | POTM vs Australia:

? 1 - Penalty scored
? 2 - Shots
? 5 - Chances created
? 3 - Successful dribbles
⚡️ 3 - Fouls won
⭐️ 8.10 - WhoScored rating #Egypt | #WorldCup pic.twitter.com/IxDrt6pLKk

— WhoScored (@WhoScored) July 3, 2026

In truth, this was a match that lacked quality for long spells, with neither doing enough to secure the win in normal time.

Extra-time was also a non-event, with both settling for penalties as they approached.

Harry Souttar and Lucas Herrington both missed from the spot for Australia, while Salah was joined on the scoresheet by Mahmoud Saber, Rami Rabia and Hossam Abdelmaguid for Egypt, with Hossam Hassan's side advancing to the round of 16.

Australia 1-1 Egypt (Egypt win 4-2 on penalties): The big talking point

Salah had been a slight injury doubt following an issue that he sustained against Iran in Egypt's final group-stage match, but the 34-year-old ultimately started against Australia and went on to play the full 120 minutes.

The attacker had two shots, created five chances, had three successful dribbles and won three fouls during the last-32 clash, according to WhoScored.

Salah also came up trumps with a stunning panenka penalty, and he will now lead Egypt in a last-16 clash at a World Cup, matching the country's achievements from 1934.

Australia 1-1 Egypt (Egypt win 4-2 on penalties): The bigger picture

Egypt will take on either Argentina or Cape Verde in the next round of the tournament, and Salah will be hoping to inspire his country to another famous win.

It could well be a match-up between Salah and Messi.

While Messi is still influencing major games for Argentina, Salah's performance level has dipped overall this summer, but it must be said that he has still scored once and provided two assists at the 2026 World Cup.

This was not a perfect performance from Salah - far from it - but he showed that he can still be a major player at a major tournament.

What the future holds for Salah at club level remains to be seen, but for now, his full focus is on helping Egypt go as far as they can at the 2026 World Cup.