The Egypt national football team faces New Zealand in the second round of the FIFA World Cup 2026, aiming for a historic win after drawing with Belgium in the first match. The game is set to take place at BC Place in Vancouver, Canada, with a large Egyptian crowd expected to support the team. Mohamed Salah, the team's captain and one of the most important and famous football stars in the world in recent years, is a key player for the team, along with Manchester City's Omar Marmoush and goalkeeper Mustafa Shobier. On the other hand, Nottingham Forest's Chris Wood leads New Zealand's ambitions, after shining in the qualifiers and topping the list of top scorers in the Oceania region. The Egyptian team, which has risen to 28th place in the new FIFA rankings, hopes to win all three points to get closer to achieving its dream of reaching the second round. Coach Hossam Hassan praised the large Egyptian crowd that attended the first game, and it is expected that they will attend this game to support the players in their quest for a first-ever World Cup win. New Zealand, ranked 83rd with 1290.04 points, is still hoping for a positive result against a more experienced and higher-ranked opponent. On March 22, 2024, the Egyptian team played its first game under the national technical staff led by Hossam Hassan, and won 1-0 against New Zealand, which was their second win with the same score after Ibrahim Hassan scored the winning goal for Egypt 25 years ago.