By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Caption: Egypt’s Trezeguet (7) celebrates with Mohamed Salah (10) and Marawan Attia (19) after scoring his side’s third goal during the World Cup Group G soccer match between New Zealand and Egypt in Vancouver, British Columbia, Sunday, June 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr).
Mohamed Salah inspired Egypt to their first-ever World Cup win as they came from a goal down to beat New Zealand 3-1 with a brilliant second-half display, moving top of Group G.
After a relatively quiet first half that saw them go in behind at the break, Egypt and Salah turned up the heat in the second period as the 34-year-old winger showed he is still capable of conjuring magic from his boots.
Egypt, who drew 1-1 with Belgium in their opener, moved top of the group with four points from two matches. The All Whites, held 2-2 by Iran in their opener, are bottom with one point. Belgium and the Iranians have two points after their 0-0 draw.
Defender Finn Surman broke the deadlock from a corner, losing marker Ahmed Fatouh before steering a powerful header into the net.
Egypt piled on the pressure after the break and they levelled through Mostafa Zico, who headed home Mohamed Hany’s cross from the right in the 58th minute.
Salah then finally gave the crowd what they wanted nine minutes later, breaking forward down the right and playing a one-two with Zico before slotting the ball into the far corner.
Salah almost scored his second in the 81st minute, cutting in from the right and firing a deflected shot over, but he notched an assist from the resulting corner as the substitute Mahmoud Trézéguet Hasan dived to head home at the near post.
Salah said: “It’s a great achievement for all the players. It’s a great win. It’s a great vibe. The next game is very important.”
Salah’s club future remains uncertain after a forgettable final campaign at Liverpool, which saw him fall out with then manager Arne Slot before announcing he was leaving this summer.
He has been linked with various clubs across the world but was determined to focus on his country’s World Cup campaign first in a bid to put right the wrongs of the past.
Meanwhile Cape Verde’s gripping debut World Cup campaign continued as they held two-time champions Uruguay to a thrilling 2-2 draw in Miami.