Group G's second matchday brings two winless sides to BC Place in Vancouver on 22 June, with the winner almost certainly staying alive in the tournament and the loser facing a very difficult path through the remaining fixtures. New Zealand drew 2-2 with Iran while Egypt shared a 1-1 result with Belgium, so both arrive on one point in genuine need of three, with the Red Devils and Iran watching closely.
Darren Bazeley and Hossam Hassan have never met as coaches, making this something of a tactical unknown. Bazeley, who doubles as New Zealand's Olympic manager, builds his All Whites around a compact defensive shape and quick counter attacks, with Joe Bell and Marko Stamenic anchoring midfield and Chris Wood leading the line. Hassan, Egypt's all time leading scorer as a player, prefers a structure that funnels the ball quickly to Mohamed Salah and Omar Marmoush on the break, a setup that kept Egypt unbeaten through qualifying.
New Zealand arrive unbeaten in their last ten internationals, including the Iran draw where Elijah Just scored both goals. Egypt's recent sequence tells a slightly different story: a draw with Belgium, a narrow friendly loss to Brazil, a win over Russia, a goalless game against Spain and a 4-0 win over Saudi Arabia, a run that suggests a side comfortable not conceding but yet to find consistency in the final third.
Neither side has significant injury or suspension worries and both should name close to full strength sides. New Zealand will likely line up in a 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1 with Max Crocombe in goal, Tim Payne and Liberato Cacace as full backs and a central defensive pairing drawn from Michael Boxall, Finn Surman, Nando Pijnaker and Bindon, while Bell and Stamenic sit in midfield and Wood captains the attack alongside Callum McCowatt, Sarpreet Singh and the in form Just. Egypt will probably go 4-2-3-1 with Mohamed El Shenawy or Mostafa Shobeir in goal, a back four of Mohamed Hany, Mohamed Abdelmonem or Ramy Rabia, Hamdy Fathy or Yasser Ibrahim and Ahmed Fatouh, Emam Ashour or Marwan Attia shielding the defence and Ibrahim Adel or Mostafa Zico alongside Salah and Marmoush in the attacking three.
Whether Egypt can control midfield long enough to let Salah and Marmoush work on New Zealand's full backs is the central question and the duel between Salah and Cacace will probably decide how open this game gets. Wood's aerial presence and Just's delivery make the All Whites dangerous from set pieces and Egypt conceded against Belgium and in the friendly loss to Brazil, so their back line is not impenetrable. Egypt lead the head to head 2-0-1 from three friendlies, the most recent a 1-0 win in the 2024 FIFA Series via a Mostafa Mohamed penalty, while earlier meetings in 1999 produced a narrow Egyptian win and a 1-1 draw, with no World Cup history between the two sides. Ashour's creativity in the middle and Salah's ability to drift and isolate defenders give Hassan options New Zealand cannot replicate and it is in that left half space, with Salah operating against a full back who has not faced this level before, where the game is most likely to be decided.
Prediction: Egypt 2-1 New Zealand. New Zealand showed against Iran they are dangerous from dead balls and on the counter and Wood's movement in the box will test Egypt's centre backs throughout. Salah in the left half space against Cacace is where the game turns and a narrow win for the Pharaohs gets them their first World Cup three points while New Zealand go into their final group game still needing a result.
Ryan Baldi
Football Writer
Ryan Baldi is a professional football writer with years of experience and has been featured by respected outlets such as the BBC, The Guardian, Sky Sports, DAZN, FourFourTwo, ESPN, Yahoo Sport and Football365. He has also written several books including Arsène Who?.
