Australia vs Egypt | FIFA World Cup 2026 — Round of 32 | Preview and Prediction

Australia will battle it out with Egypt for a place in the Round of 16 of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in this all-important Round of 32 fixture on July 3 at Dallas Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

For the game, here we present our preview and prediction.

FIFA WC26 | Ro32: AUS vs EGY | 23:30 IST, July 3, 2026

Australia began their World Cup campaign with a surprising 2–0 win against a strong Türkiye side. They couldn’t keep up that form, however, and lost to co-hosts USA before drawing with Paraguay. Four points proved to be enough to seal a Round of 32 qualification berth for the Aussies, though.

Egypt, on the other hand, also started their campaign well, drawing their first game against Belgium. The Pharaohs then secured their first-ever World Cup win against New Zealand, recovering from a 1–0 deficit to win 3–1, with Mohamed Salah being the difference-maker in the second half. Their last group stage game ended in a nervy draw against Iran, but with five points from three games, Egypt comfortably secured their first-ever knockout stage qualification.

Both teams are pretty much on an even footing coming into this game. Unfortunately, both teams have a couple of absentees due to injuries and suspension. Australia could be without Mathew Leckie and Jacob Italiano for this game, while Egypt could miss Ahmed Fatouh and Mohamed Abdelmonem due to injury, with Mohanad Lasheen suspended.

Egypt will look to rely heavily on their talismanic forward Mo Salah to lead them into the Round of 16. Barring Salah and Omar Marmoush, none of the Egyptian players have much exposure to the big European leagues. As for Australia, most of their players come from European clubs: Harry Souttar, Jordan Bos, Jackson Irvine, Connor Metcalfe, Nestory Irankunda, and Mathew Ryan all play in Europe. Salah, Marmoush, Mostafa Ziko, Trézéguet, and Emam Ashour will be key for the Egyptians in this game, while the Socceroos’ main men will be Irankunda, Bos, and Ryan.

Difficult to call this game, but given Egypt will miss key players in defence and midfield, Australia have a bit of an advantage here. These two sides have never played each other at the World Cup. They have, in fact, only faced each other once in a friendly match a long time ago, which Egypt won comfortably.

We believe this could be a tight affair like many other Round of 32 fixtures so far. Egypt do possess the better and more experienced forward line, but their defence has conceded goals in every game. Australia, meanwhile, kept two clean sheets in the group stage but had difficulty scoring goals. Our prediction for this game is a narrow win for Egypt to take them into uncharted territory — the Round of 16.

Score Prediction: Australia 1–2 Egypt
Venue: Dallas Stadium, Arlington, Texas, USA