The match between Egypt and Australia in the round of 16 of the 2026 World Cup witnessed an exciting tactical incident that caught the attention before the start of the penalty shootout, which the Pharaohs won 4-2 after a 1-1 draw in regular and extra time. The technical staff of the Egyptian national team, led by Hossam Hassan, carefully studied the movements of the Australian substitute goalkeeper, Mathew Ryan, through a previous shot of the French star, Kylian Mbappe.
Australia coach Tony Popovic took a gamble just minutes before the end of extra time by substituting starting goalkeeper Patrick Peach with veteran Mathew Ryan, hoping to benefit from his experience in penalty kicks. However, the Egyptian national team's coaching staff was prepared for this scenario. The Pharaohs players gathered in a circle before the kicks began to watch a video clip on a laptop showing Ryan's movements during a penalty kick taken against him by Real Madrid striker Mbappe in a match against Levante in the Spanish League last January, according to the website of the Spanish newspaper "AS".
Popovic’s plan did not bear fruit, as the former Lens goalkeeper failed to stop any Egyptian penalty kick, as Mahmoud Saber, Rami Rabia, Mohamed Salah and Hossam Abdel-Maguid successfully put the ball into the net, leading the Pharaohs to a historic qualification for the quarter-finals for the first time in their World Cup history.
In contrast, Australia wasted two penalties after captain Harry Souttar shot the ball over the goal, while the shot of 18-year-old Lucas Herrington rebounded off the crossbar, leaving the Australian team to suffer the bitterness of exiting the knockout stages for the third time in its history after the 2006 edition against Italy and the 2022 edition against Argentina.
