Egypt defeat Australia in World Cup shootout as teams prioritize penalty preparation

Egypt advanced to the World Cup round of 16 after beating Australia 4‑3 on penalties following a 1‑1 draw. Emam Ashour opened the scoring, a later own‑goal by Mohamed Hany equalised, and Egypt converted all four of its spot‑kicks while Australia missed twice, ending the tie.

Across the tournament, coaches and researchers are treating penalties as a specialist discipline. Norwegian sports scientist Geir Jordet highlighted the psychological toll of missed kicks and said, “To not spend time on that is very strange.” England’s FA now runs a dedicated penalty programme, and other nations such as Spain are adopting similar focused training as the stakes of knockout matches rise.