Socceroos, Pharaohs battle for last-16 spot

Australia and Egypt meet in a high-stakes FIFA World Cup last-32 clash in Arlington tonight, with a place in the Round of 16 at stake.

The Socceroos finished runners-up in Group D to reach the knockout stage, while Egypt advanced as second-placed finishers in Group G behind Belgium.

Tap Here to Add The Daily Star As A Trusted Source

Australia began their World Cup campaign with a 2-0 victory over Turkey before suffering a 2-0 defeat to co-hosts USA in their second match. A goalless draw against Paraguay in their final group fixture was enough to secure second place behind the Americans with four points.

Australia have previously reached the Round of 16 at the World Cup in 2006 and 2022, losing to eventual champions Argentina in their most recent appearance.

Egypt, meanwhile, collected five points from their three group matches. Hossam Hassan's side opened their campaign with a 1-1 draw against Belgium before beating New Zealand 3-1 in their second outing.

A 1-1 draw with Iran in their final group match left them level on points with Belgium, but they missed out on top spot on goal difference.

Having lost all three of their matches at the 2018 World Cup, Egypt have enjoyed a much-improved campaign this time around, and reaching the Round of 16 would represent another significant achievement.

Highlights

**Egypt are closely monitoring the fitness of captain Mohamed Salah, who picked up a minor hamstring strain during their final group stage match, but is highly expected to be risked for this crucial fixture.

**This will be Australia’s third FIFA World Cup knockout game; their first two saw them lose to the eventual winners, going down 1-0 to Italy in 2006 and 2-1 to Argentina in 2022.

**This will be the first-ever competitive meeting between Australia and Egypt. Their previous two encounters in history were friendlies (a 0-0 draw in 1987 where Australia won on penalties, and a 3-0 win for Egypt in 2010).