Mohamed Salah explains why he decided on 'last-minute' Panenka penalty in Egypt's FIFA World Cup shoot-out win over Australia - 'I had to do it'

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Mohamed Salah has explained the thinking behind his "last-minute" Panenka penalty decision in Egypt's FIFA World Cup 2026 last-32 tie against Australia in Dallas which helped his country make history in the tournament.

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A tight game became the third at this year’s World Cup to be decided by penalties after finishing 1-1 following 120 minutes.

Salah, who is a free agent this summer after terminating his Liverpool contract a year early, stepped up to take Egypt’s third penalty with the score at 2-2 after Australia missed their first spot-kick.

Instead of aiming for the corner, Salah coolly dinked a Panenka down the middle and beat substitute goalkeeper Mat Ryan, who had replaced Patrick Beach for the shoot-out.

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Hossam Abdelmaguid scored the fourth penalty for Egypt to secure their place in the last 16.

Asked about his bold choice of penalty afterwards, Salah said: "If somebody was going to do it, it would be me.

”I am more experienced than others, and I wanted to give them confidence. I decided [in the] last minute, I don’t know if it’s my last World Cup or not, but I had to do it."

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Salah had a largely quiet game, but still created five chances for Egypt, who will play Argentina in the last 16 after they survived a huge scare to beat minnows Cabo Verde in a five-goal thriller.

The win over Australia was Egypt’s first knockout victory at a World Cup.

"It's history," added Salah. "I told the guys before the game that this is the biggest stage you can play on, so enjoy it, and don't let the pressure get to you.

"I'm glad that we managed to win the game. Bad luck for them, they lost on penalties. But I'm happy that we wrote history today."

Egypt’s victory means a Salah versus Lionel Messi showdown in the next round.

However, Salah was not looking ahead when asked about the potential prospect of facing Messi.

"Argentina play their next game in a bit, so we have to respect every team," he said before Argentina's victory over Cabo Verde. "We will see what’s next."

Egypt had taken the lead against Australia with 13 minutes on the clock, when Emam Ashour headed home from Karim Hafez's cross.

Australia equalised 10 minutes into the second via a fortuitous own goal, as Aiden O'Neill's free-kick was headed into his own net by Mohamed Hany.

Neither side could find a winner in regular time or extra time and eventually it was decided by a penalty shoot-out.

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