Australia 1-1 Egypt (2-4 pens) - Salah gets his history

Egypt did not win this neatly. That is exactly why it felt like Egypt.

At Dallas Stadium, in a Friday Round of 32 match that kicked off at 1:00 p.m. local time, 2:00 p.m. ET and 11:00 a.m. PT, Egypt beat Australia 4-2 on penalties after a 1-1 draw, their first World Cup knockout win. 1

Emam Ashour headed Egypt ahead in the 13th minute, but Mohamed Hany's 55th-minute own goal dragged Australia level and sent the match toward extra time. 2 That own goal hurt twice: AP reported it was Hany's second of the tournament, and Australia's only World Cup knockout goals have now both come via opponents. 3

The hinge was Tony Popovic's late goalkeeper switch. Patrick Beach had just made the save that kept Australia alive, but Mat Ryan came on before penalties and did not stop any of Egypt's four kicks. Harry Souttar missed high, Lucas Herrington hit the bar, and Hossam Abdelmaguid finished the shootout. 4

The numbers back the feeling that Egypt had the better match without ever fully killing it: ESPN had Egypt at 1.32 xG to Australia's 0.84, with 58% possession and three shots on goal to Australia's one. 2 Salah still played 120 minutes despite the hamstring worry, then chipped his penalty down the middle when the whole thing was at its loudest. 1

Verdict: Egypt looked scared of throwing history away, then brave when it had nowhere left to hide. Australia were close enough for this to ache for years.

"Today was one of the best days of my life, making history with my country." - Mohamed Salah 1