Arlington, July 4: Egypt head coach Hossam Hassan raised the Palestinian flag after his side earned their first knockout win and dedicated the FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 32 victory over Australia to the Palestinians.

Egypt went through to the last 16 after beating Australia 4-2 on penalties in a dramatic Round of 32 contest in Dallas and became only the second African nation ever to win a World Cup penalty shoot-out, after Morocco’s two triumphs – in 2022 v Spain and 2026 v the Netherlands.

Moments after Egypt secured the victory, Hassan carried both the Egyptian and Palestinian flags onto the pitch and celebrated with the Palestinian flag with fans chanting, “Free Palestine” slogan.

Speaking to reporters after the match, Hassan said, “May God grant them victory, may God have mercy on their martyrs. I’m saying to them: I’m dedicating this victory to the Egyptian people and Palestinian people, those kind and honourable people.”

In their previous match, the Pharaohs had beaten New Zealand to record their first victory on the world stage. Now they are celebrating an Antipodean double after a shootout triumph secured by Hossam Abdelmaguid after misses by Australia’s Harry Souttar and Lucas Herrington

Egypt had gained an early lead in the game through Emam Ashour but Mohamed Hany’s second-half own goal meant a tight game went all the way to penalties, with Hossam Hassan’s still-unbeaten side prevailing to set up a Round of 16 tie in Atlanta on July 8 against holders Argentina.

Egypt would have won the game at the end of normal time but for a fantastic one-handed save by Patrick Beach to keep out Rami Rabia’s bullet header from a Mohamed Salah cross. Salah, passed fit amid concerns over a hamstring problem, then teed up Haissem Hassan for a shot foiled by a brilliant Souttar block.

Australia coach Popovic sent on substitute goalkeeper Mat Ryan in place of Beach just before the final whistle of extra tie but to no avail as Egypt converted all their kicks – including a nerveless Panenka effort by Salah.

Toronto, July 3: Goncalo Ramos scored a late winner as Portugal came from behind to beat Croatia 2-1 in a match decided only in stoppage time here at Toronto Stadium on Friday.

After Ivan Perisic gave Croatia the lead shortly after the break, Portugal responded with a penalty converted by Cristiano Ronaldo and Goncalo Ramos then rose highest to send a Rafael Leao cross home in the fourth minute of stoppage time to secure the win.

Ronaldo’s goal was first in the knockout stages of the FIFA World Cup. At 41, he is the oldest player to net at that stage, outranking fellow Portugal icon Pepe.

Portugal took control of the match from the opening minutes, creating the best opportunities against Croatia. They came close to opening the scoring after just four minutes. Rafael Leao broke down the left and assisted Bruno Fernandes, whose first-time shot forced Dominik Livakovic into a superb save. On the rebound, the Croatian defense again prevented a Portuguese goal.

The national team continued to establish themselves in the final third and create danger, mainly through set pieces. Joao Cancelo tried to surprise from outside the area after a corner (7′), Ronaldo saw a direct free kick hit the wall (13′) and Renato Veiga headed over the bar following another corner (16′).

A few minutes later, Neves also wasted a good opportunity, appearing at the far post after another cross from Nuno Mendes, although his shot went over the bar.

On the other side, Croatia struggled to create dangerous situations near Diogo Costa’s goal. The most threatening chance came in the 10th minute, when Ante Budimir found himself unmarked in the box, but headed wide.

In the final minutes before halftime, Portugal intensified the pressure again. Bruno Fernandes stood out by creating a dangerous play down the left, forcing Livakovic into another save before winning a corner. Following that corner, Nuno Mendes shot, but his attempt was blocked by the Croatian defense.

The Portuguese team entered the second half with the same intention of controlling the match, but it was Croatia who created the first dangerous situations and ended up opening the scoring.

The Croatian goal came in the 53rd minute, following a cross from Josip Stanisic on the right. Ruben Dias tried to clear the danger, but the clearance ended up serving Ivan Perisic at the far post. Unmarked, the experienced Croatian left-footer positioned himself in front of goal and beat Diogo Costa, putting Croatia ahead.

Portugal responded immediately to the setback and came close to equalising in the 58th minute when Rafael Leão hit the crossbar. Shortly after, Cristiano Ronaldo put the ball in the net, but the goal was disallowed for offside.

Portugal’s persistence was finally rewarded in the 68th minute. After reviewing the images, the referee awarded a penalty for a foul by Nikola Vlasic on Renato Veiga. He stepped up to take the penalty and beat Dominik Livakovic from the spot, restoring parity.

After the equaliser, Croatia continued to create danger, but Portugal held firm, largely thanks to Diogo Costa, who denied goals to Kovacic and Matanovic.

The Portuguese response came at the decisive moment. In stoppage time, at 90+4 minutes, Rafael Leao delivered a perfect cross to Ramos, who appeared in the box to head the ball accurately.

There was still somehow time for further drama. A Hail Mary pass into the Portugal box fell to Mario Pasalic to square for Josko Gvardiol to tap home. After a VAR review, however, Pasalic was deemed to have been in an offside position.

Arlington, June 26: Daizen Maeda and Anthony Elanga traded quick-fire goals as a hard-fought 1-1 draw has taken Japan and Sweden through to the FIFA World Cup 2026 knockout stage.

Japan arrived at Dallas Stadium knowing a draw would secure a top-two finish, while Sweden needed all three points to leapfrog their opponents into second place.

Japan, who qualified as Group F runners-up, will now face Brazil in Houston on June 30, while Sweden must wait to see who they will take on as secure rpud of 32 spot as one of the eight best third-placed teams.

Daizen Maeda opened the scoring in the second half, putting the finishing touch on a flowing Japan move 11 minutes after the break. Sweden didn’t take that hit lying down, though, and hit back just six minutes later.

Anthony Elanga picked the ball up on the right wing, cut inside and curled a sumptuous left-footed effort into the corner. Graham Potter’s side came closest to winning it when Alexander Isak had a header tipped on to the bar by Zion Suzuki late on.

Japan soon began to assert control, dictating the tempo and forcing Graham Potter’s charges deep inside their own half. Daizen Maeda headed narrowly wide early on, before Yukinari Sugawara tested Jacob Zetterstrom for the first time.

Keito Nakamura went even closer to breaking the deadlock, but his cleverly disguised effort was brilliantly tipped around the post, reports FIFA.

Japan broke the deadlock ten minutes after the restart when Maeda latched on to a superb Ritsu Doan through ball and finished smartly into the corner. Their lead lasted just a few minutes, though, with Anthony Elanga firing in a ferocious 20-yard shot to restore parity.

With Sweden in the ascendancy, Zion Suzuki denied Alexander Isak and Elanga goals that would have sent Sweden through in second place as a gripping contest ended all square.