Australia’s coach calls on his players to “write history” against Egypt…and his reaction to Salah’s recovery | sports

Coach Tony Popovic called on the Australian national team to write history and put the country on the football map when it faces Egypt in the round of 32 of the 2026 World Cup.

The Socceroos have never won a knockout match in the biggest football tournaments, but the same applies to Egypt, led by Mohamed Salah.

“We feel very happy to be here,” Popovich said Thursday, on the eve of the confrontation in Dallas. “We deserved it and are worthy of being at this stage,” adding: “We feel calm, comfortable and prepared. It will be a special match and we want to showcase Australian football on the world stage.”

Australia began its campaign in the 2026 World Cup by defeating Türkiye 2-0, before losing to the United States, one of the hosts, and then a draw with Paraguay gave it a pass to the round of 32.

The Australian national team includes a number of talented young players, including 18-year-old centre-back Lucas Herrington, who has attracted the interest of Barcelona.

Popovic stressed that he expects his players to show their identity against the Egyptian national team, which achieved its first victory in the history of its participation in the World Cup during the group stage.

The former Al-Arabi Qatari club defender said that his team is “capable of achieving what is required.”

He added: “We have to do our part during the match, whether it is 90 minutes, extra time, or penalty kicks, in order to write history.”

He added: “I expect the match to be more difficult than what we have faced so far, given that it is an elimination match, with all respect to Egypt as well, but I also feel that we are capable of providing a better performance, and tomorrow is an opportunity to achieve that.”

He continued: “If we perform very well, we have a chance to write history.”

There are doubts about the participation of Egyptian star Salah, the former Liverpool player, as national team coach Hossam Hassan said that he was not sure of the striker’s readiness to start the match, and Popovic commented on that: “We have prepared for both possibilities.”