New Zealand 1-3 Egypt: Mo Salah inspires comeback to seal historic victory

Mohamed Salah produced a moment of brilliance to inspire Egypt's historic first ever World Cup win, as the Pharaohs came from behind to beat New Zealand 3-1 in Vancouver on Sunday, in their Group G matchday two fixture.

Finn Summan had given New Zealand the lead, but Egypt turned the game on its head in an extraordinary ten-minute spell after the break. Mostafa Ziko equalised before Salah cut in from the right to put the Pharaohs ahead, and Mahmoud Trezeguet added a third from a Salah corner to seal a remarkable victory.

It is Egypt's first win at a World Cup, having drawn all three group games in 1990 and lost all three in 2018.

New Zealand vs. Egypt: match summary

New Zealand were the superior side in a fairly even first half, at least in terms of the balance of play. Egypt offered little going forward and struggled to involve their best players, while the All Whites — sharp, direct and vertical — forced two saves from Mostafa Shobeir before Summan broke the deadlock.

The picture changed dramatically after the interval. Within ten minutes of the restart, Egypt had already forced more attempts than they had managed in the entire first 45.

Ziko levelled on 57 minutes and Salah put Egypt ahead nine minutes later. The Pharaohs had transformed from a team low on ideas into an intense, high-energy unit.

New Zealand, who had almost doubled their advantage through a superb Shobeir save just six minutes into the second half, never recovered.

Salah shines after Egypt's unlikely heroes step up

The moment of quality that settled the tie only came because others had done the hard work first. Salah had been largely anonymous in the opening period, but Emam Ashour and Ziko were carrying Egypt's threat.

Ashour — who had already scored to earn a draw against Belgium in the opener — played the key second assist, opening up the right flank for Mohamed Hany to cross for Ziko's equaliser.

Ziko, before his headed goal, had also come close to scoring when Summan cleared what appeared to be a certain strike off the line.

Salah's goal itself was a moment of pure quality, a one-two with Ziko in the box before a precise, placed finish. It was the kind of contribution that underlined the gap in technical quality between Salah and everyone else on the pitch.

In the opening game against Belgium, Salah had contributed an assist for Ashour but had not imposed himself. Sunday was different.

Egypt's all-time leading World Cup scorer — his three goals eclipsing the two he scored in 2018 — Salah is also the only Egyptian to score at two different World Cup tournaments. Should he find the net again, he would equal his current manager Hossam Hassan as Egypt's all-time top scorer in international football.

Marmoush still searching for his first World Cup goal

While Salah finally delivered, Omar Marmoush is still waiting for his moment. The Manchester City forward has had eight attempts across Egypt's two group games but has yet to find the net.

Only half of those shots came from inside the area, which suggests the problem is not solely of his making. A player whose game is built on pace and runs in behind the defence, Marmoush has not been served with the through balls and passes in depth that would give him the best chance to hurt opponents.

For a player of his ability, however, more is expected. He will have another opportunity in the final group game against Iran, and again in the last 32, which Egypt are now virtually certain to reach.

It would be their first knockout appearance in the group-stage era — their previous last-16 exit came in 1934, when the tournament began directly at that stage.