Egypt’s football team performed a sajda on the Dallas Stadium turf on Friday night, moments after securing a result the nation had never managed before – a World Cup knockout win.
It wasn’t later when Coach Hossam Hassan walked onto the pitch carrying both the Egyptian and Palestinian flags, also using his post-match remarks to hand the moment to people far from the stadium.
“I’m dedicating this victory to the Egyptian people and Palestinian people, those kind and honourable people,” Hassan told reporters. He added a prayer for those who were killed by Israel in Gaza: “May God grant them victory, may God have mercy on their martyrs.”
The match itself was tense from start to finish. Emam Ashour headed Egypt in front in the 13th minute, but Australia levelled things 10 minutes into the second half through an own goal off Mohamed Hany. Neither side broke the deadlock across 90 minutes or extra time, sending the round of 32 tie to penalties.
Australia missed twice, through Harry Souttar and Lucas Herrington, and Hossam Abdelmaguid stepped up to convert the winning kick, sending Egypt through to a last-16 meeting with Argentina.
News of the win travelled fast to Gaza where residents gathered at outdoor screenings to watch. Footage shared online showed crowds celebrating against a backdrop of bombed-out buildings and makeshift tents, several children with the Egyptian flag painted on their faces and adults waving flags of their own.
For many, it was a rare shared moment of celebration during an otherwise grinding stretch of daily life.
The day had already been eventful before kick-off. Egypt’s team said that one of their staff, director Ibrahim Hassan, and player Trezeguet were pushed by a Dallas police officer while trying to pose for a photo with a fan outside the team’s hotel.
The incident spread quickly on social media.
The Dallas Police Department later said the matter had been resolved at the scene.
