Egypt Has Won Its First Ever World Cup Match And Fans Are Celebrating Across The World
Videos showed people celebrating Egypt’s win in Gaza, Syria’s Damascus, the UAE, Saudi Arabia and the US.
Egypt has won a World Cup match for the first time ever in the country's history, and fans from Cairo to Vancouver have spent the past two days celebrating in the streets.
Egypt became the first African country to qualify for and play in a World Cup in 1934 in Italy, but lost its first match and returned home.
Since then, the team has only managed to qualify for the tournament three more times — in 1990, 2018 and now 2026 — and every single time, it lost or drew.
It never won a single match.
On Sunday, June 21, Egypt’s team, under head coach Hossam Hassan, who had also participated in the 1990 World Cup as a player, finally won its first match in the World Cup.
The team played New Zealand in Vancouver, Canada, in a Group G match, and scored a historic 3-1 win.
The result moved Egypt to the top of Group G, ahead of Belgium, Iran and New Zealand, all of which have drawn at least one match so far.
Egypt’s team all then dropped to the ground in sujoud, the Islamic act of prostration, before dancing on the field, with Hassan visibly emotional.
Celebrations erupted all around the world.
More than 52,000 people, most of them Egyptian, had packed BC Place Stadium in Vancouver to watch, and many took to the streets in celebration afterward.
Players joined fans gathered outside their hotel in downtown Vancouver, where the party continued late into the night.
In Egypt, thousands poured into the streets at 6 am local time, waving Egyptian flags and chanting in celebration.
Videos showed people celebrating Egypt’s win in Gaza, Syria’s Damascus, the UAE, Saudi Arabia and the US.
Egypt will play its final group game against Iran on Friday in Seattle, Washington.
A win or a draw would be enough to send the team through to the round of 32 for the first time in its World Cup history.
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