Socceroos to face Egypt in World Cup knockout after dramatic Group G finish

Australia's World Cup knockout opponent was only decided in the dying moments of the final Group G matches.

The Socceroos finished second in their group and sealed a spot in the knockout rounds after a scoreless draw against Paraguay. Credit: Getty Images

In brief

• Australia will face Egypt in the World Cup Round of 32.
• Mohamed Salah's fitness is in doubt after coming off in Egypt's draw with Iran.

Australia will face Egypt in the World Cup Round of 32 after the Pharaohs held on to finish second in Group G following a dramatic final round of matches.

Egypt sealed its place in the knockout rounds on Saturday afternoon (AEST) with a 1-1 draw against Iran, but was denied top spot in Group G after Belgium thrashed New Zealand 5-1 to edge the Pharaohs on goal difference.

It means Australia will face Egypt in the Round of 32 at Arlington, Texas, at 4am next Saturday. The two sides have never met at a World Cup before.

There will be uncertainty regarding Mohamed Salah's fitness. The Egyptian star came off in the 57th minute against Iran and was seen having his left leg bandaged.

The fitness of Egypt's Mohamed Salah is in question after his left leg was heavily strapped following his substitution. Source: Getty / Al Sermeno

The group standings changed several times throughout the simultaneous matches, with Belgium, Iran and Egypt all sitting second in the group at various times.

Iran scored a stoppage-time goal, which was ruled offside by VAR. Had it stood, they would have finished second and played Australia.

They will now face an agonising wait to see if they qualify as one of the top eight third-placed teams.

New Zealand finished last in the group with one point and were eliminated from the tournament.

'Difficult game'

Former Socceroo Harry Kewell, speaking before the results, told SBS that Belgium and Egypt looked the most dangerous of Australia's opponents.

"Whoever we face, it's always going to be a difficult game," he said.

"Once you get through the group stages, which they successfully navigated through, it's all about now.

"This is where you have to play your best football. This is where you have to strike when your chances are low, you've got to be able to be clinical, and hopefully we can do that and progress one step further."

Australia are down to a 24-player squad after the injured Jacob Italiano and Mathew Leckie left camp for Austria and Melbourne, respectively.

Italiano played against Türkiye and the United States but was injured at training, while Leckie hurt his hamstring in the defeat to the US.

Australia have played Egypt twice before, winning a President's Cup match on penalties in 1987. They lost a friendly in Cairo 3-0 in 2010.

The Socceroos will be keen to claim their first-ever knockout win after falling short against eventual champions Argentina in the Round of 16 in Qatar.

The final World Cup group matches will be played on Sunday.

— With additional reporting by Haylena Krishnamoorthy

You can watch all 104 matches of the FIFA World Cup 2026™ live, free and exclusive on SBS, SBS VICELAND and SBS On Demand.

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