Salah describes historic Egypt win over New Zealand as 'a great achievement'

[p]After a relatively quiet first half that saw them go in behind at the break, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/egypt/bejDn7NN/"]Egypt[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/salah-mohamed/08FBycgB/"]Salah[/a] ‌turned up the heat in the second period as the 34-year-old winger showed he is still capable of conjuring magic from his boots.[/p][p]Egypt, who drew [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/belgium-GbB957na/egypt-bejDn7NN/?mid=dG7zgzd5"]1-1[/a] with [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/belgium/GbB957na/"]Belgium[/a] in ‌their opener, moved to the top of the group with four points from two matches. The All Whites, held ‌[a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/iran-xrRx85iA/new-zealand-rLctHkpU/?mid=4tBriEQH"]2-2[/a] by [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/iran/xrRx85iA/"]Iran[/a] in their opener, are bottom with one point. Belgium and the Iranians have two points after their 0-0 draw.[/p][p][b]"It's ‌a great achievement for all the players. It's a great win. It's a great vibe. The next ‌game is very important,"[/b] Salah said as he took the plaudits amongst his teammates.[/p][embed guid="32ba2aa8-770f-4010-960b-c689c74ebf55" url="https://x.com/FIFAWorldCup/status/2068897233206931546?s=20" social-type="twitter" /][p]Salah gave the crowd what they wanted after breaking forward down the right and playing a one-two with Zico before slotting the ball into the far corner.[/p][p]He almost scored his second in the 81st minute, cutting in from the right and firing a deflected ⁠shot over, but he notched an assist ​from the resulting corner as substitute Mahmoud Trezeguet dived to head home at the near post.[/p][p]By the 10th minute of stoppage ‌time, the Egyptian fans were whistling loudly for the referee to end the game.[/p][p]When he did, an ear-splitting roar went up as Salah and company made history with the country's first World Cup win, and coach [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/hassan-hossam/Q93FrVGg/"]Hossam Hassan[/a] lapped the stadium with an Egyptian flag.[/p][image alt="Egypt head coach Hossam Hassan (left) celebrates win over New Zealand" id="cea8dd98-7088-4b82-9e2b-5623a3e79af5" credit-line="Ercin Erturk / Anadolu" guid="27054a5d-09d0-4852-9813-e80d4e564750" original-width="5456" original-height="3640" /][p][b]"My feelings are the same as those of the Egyptian people because I am one of them. I am one of them and I love them - those who came here and those who stayed up back in Egypt watching,"[/b] Hassan said.[/p][p][b]"The stadium felt as if we were in Egypt. The fans made it feel as though we were playing in Egypt, and I told the players, 'We're playing in Egypt.' The stadium was full, like Cairo Stadium."[/b][/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/new-zealand/rLctHkpU/"]New Zealand[/a], after twice being pegged back by Iran in ‌their 2-2 draw, again let a lead slip, and this time it proved more costly as Salah worked his ​magic.[/p][p][b]"I think we contained them well enough, but they have good enough people in the whole ‌side,"[/b] New Zealand captain Chris Wood told reporters.[/p][p][b]"You can't just focus on one player, and he (Salah) can pop up with a goal at any time, and he showed that."[/b][/p][p][b]"He's a good player, you have to keep an eye on him, but there's also a lot of other boys in that team that create problems, and eventually they scored goals as well."[/b][/p][p]New Zealand round off the group stage against Belgium ⁠in Vancouver, while Egypt will meet Iran in their ⁠final game, with all to play for in ‌the race for a spot in the Round of 32.[/p][p][b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/egypt-bejDn7NN/new-zealand-rLctHkpU/?mid=QeaikheU"]See all the match stats with Flashscore.[/a][/b][/p][image alt="Egypt-New Zealand matchup stats" id="4d79bf3c-5300-4d8b-872b-77cd037866be" credit-line="Opta by Flashscore" guid="dc51ca40-09e4-4dbf-bc71-1af1c87b9bc4" original-width="1080" original-height="1080" /][infobox id="4ccc1b10-d68f-4c97-bcf4-5e613c17c2e3" /]