Penalty heartbreak for Australia vs. Egypt as World Cup knockout win still eludes Socceroos - ESPN

ARLINGTON, Texas — Deep in the heart of Texas, the Socceroos had theirs broken. After 120 minutes of football could not separate the two teams, Hossam Abdelmaguid fired home a decisive penalty in the shootout that sent Egypt to the FIFA World Cup round of 16 and sent Australia packing Friday.

In the late morning sun, Cairo erupted in celebration, a historic moment for a football-mad nation. In the freezing early morning of Melbourne and Sydney, live sites fell into a lull, stunned into silence by the sudden realization that it was now all over.

The Pharaohs advanced from a knockout tie for the first time, as African powers who are finally getting their moment on the world stage that they have waited for so long. Mohamed Salah, with time running out for him to secure that signature moment in the international arena, has found one — deftly dinking his shootout attempt straight down the middle after inducing Australia goalkeeper Mathew Ryan to commit to his dive with an exaggerated run-up.

— World Cup bracket: Every team's route to the final
— Grades for every team eliminated from the World Cup
— Salah leads Egypt to World Cup history with shootout triumph

Four converted penalties were enough, taking the contest 4-2 after Harry Souttar and Lucas Herrington missed their attempts. Egypt goalkeeper Mostafa Shobeir didn't end up making a save for either, with Souttar sending his opening attempt over the bar and Herrington hitting his off the crossbar.

Just why it was Ryan in goal will be one of the questions that long hovers over this result. Patrick Beach had produced a stunning save in the dying embers of the 90 minutes to take the game into extra time, and, per ESPN Global Soccer Research, has prevented 2.65 goals at this