Egypt coach dedicates World Cup win to Palestine as Gaza celebrates

Fans in Gaza celebrated Egypt’s win at match screenings held against the backdrop of bombed buildings.Egypt coach Hossam Hassan has dedicated his team’s World Cup knockout win over Australia to the people of Palestine, who joined the rest of the Arab world in celebrating the historic victory through the night.Egypt held their nerve to beat Australia 4-2 on penalties and secure their first World Cup knockout victory following a 1-1 draw after extra time in a cagey round of 32 match at Dallas Stadium on Friday.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4‘They were robbed’: Controversial penalty ends Senegal’s World Cup runlist 2 of 4German football has a bigger problem than a World Cup loss: Scapegoatinglist 3 of 4World Cup cohosts Canada hope to extend dream run, but Morocco test awaitslist 4 of 4Nagelsmann quits as Germany coach after early World Cup 2026 exitend of listHossam Abdelmaguid rolled in the winning spot-kick after Harry Souttar and Lucas Herrington missed from 12 yards for the Australians, sending Egypt into a last-16 clash with Argentina or Cape Verde.Emam Ashour had given Egypt the lead with a 13th-minute header before an own goal by Mohamed Hany 10 minutes into the second half levelled the scores.Speaking to reporters after the match, Hassan said: “May God grant them [the Palestinians] victory, may God have mercy on their martyrs.“I’m saying to them: I’m dedicating this victory to the Egyptian people and Palestinian people, those kind and honourable people.”Hassan carried both the Egyptian and Palestinian flags onto the pitch following the victory, which was the country’s first win in its first-ever World Cup knockout game, as the team collectively bent down on the ground in prostration.An emotional Hossam Hassan dedicated his team’s win to the people of Palestine [Molly Darlington/Getty Images/AFP]Several Palestinian football fans took to social media to express their shared joy with Egypt.“For the first time, I’m following the World Cup with this much excitement,” Gaza-based Tamer Nahed wrote on X.