Egypt
Today's Talking Points
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1Egypt's World Cup ended in heartbreak in the Round of 16 against defending champions Argentina — they led 2-0 with 15 minutes left, then lost the lead and the game to a stoppage-time header from Enzo Fernández. As exits go, that's about as painful as it gets.
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2To get there, Egypt beat Australia on penalties in the Round of 32 — their first ever knockout win at a men's World Cup, in a history stretching back over 90 years. Mohamed Salah played every minute of it, hamstring issue and all, and scored his penalty in the shootout.
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3Salah had actually left the final group game, against Iran, with that same hamstring problem — the kind of injury scare that has an entire nation checking his fitness updates rather than the score.
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4Egypt qualified for this World Cup unbeaten, and the group stage needed a second-half comeback against New Zealand to land their first ever World Cup win, before finishing second in their group behind Belgium on goal difference.
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5A first-ever knockout win, a first-ever Round of 16 appearance, and a two-goal lead lost to the defending champions in the cruellest way possible — this was, by a distance, Egypt's best World Cup, even though the ending will sting for a while.
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Top thing to say down the pub
Egypt were 2-0 up on the defending champions with 15 minutes left in the Round of 16, and still went out. That's simultaneously the best and worst World Cup Egypt have ever had.
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Avoid saying
"Salah never delivers for Egypt at World Cups" — he played through a hamstring injury to help them to their first ever knockout win and their first ever Round of 16. If anything, this was the tournament that finally proved the opposite.