Mo Salah and Egypt make FIFA World Cup history in Vancouver
Egyptians won’t soon forget Sunday night’s FIFA World Cup match in Vancouver.
History was made at BC Place, as Egypt earned its country’s first-ever win at a men’s World Cup, defeating New Zealand 3-1. And it was Egypt’s biggest star who was hero.
Mohamed Salah scored the winning goal for Egypt in the 67th minute, which came just nine minutes after teammate Mostafa Zico drew the match. Then in the 82nd minute, it was Salah’s corner that set up Trezeguet to give Egypt a 3-1 lead.
It was bedlam at BC Place, which had a decidedly pro-Egypt crowd in attendance.
SALAH HAS HIS MOMENT!
Egypt takes a 2-1 lead on a brilliant goal from their star#FIFAWorldCup pic.twitter.com/9MJfObJQNW
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) June 22, 2026
“What happened today was history, for us as Egyptians,” Salah told reporters post-match.
“It’s a great feeling for all of us. It’s a great achievement. I said before, we just do our best in the tournament to make the people happy in Egypt and right now they are happy and proud. The only thing I can promise them is we will sweat and we will run, and we will give it our best.”
The match was another sellout at BC Place, with an announced attendance of 52,497. Vancouver has sold out all three matches it has hosted at the FIFA World Cup so far.
View this post on Instagram
Ranked 29th heading into this tournament, this was just Egypt’s fourth men’s World Cup appearance, and their first since 2018. Egypt went winless in 2018, 1990, and 1934.
The win puts Egypt into first place in Group G with four points, ahead of Iran (2), Belgium (2), and New Zealand (1). New Zealand and Belgium will play in Vancouver on June 26, while Egypt takes on Iran at the same time in Seattle.
Salah, who was named man of the match, likely tops the list of star players scheduled to play in Vancouver at the FIFA World Cup, at least during the group stage. It sounds like Salah enjoyed his time in the city.
“It’s very nice, it’s very nice,” Salah said when asked about Vancouver by Daily Hive’s Har Johal. “Probably one day I will live here so you never know.”
Next up for Vancouver is Canada vs. Switzerland on Wednesday, which will decide the winner of Group B. Vancouver is also scheduled to host a pair of knockout round matches, on July 2 and 7.
- You might also like:
- How Canada can win Group B and play knockout round matches at BC Place