Why did the Egyptian team make 6 changes in the game against New Zealand?

The Egyptian national team won a historic victory over their New Zealand counterpart, 3:1, in the match that brought them together today, Monday, in the second round of Group 7 of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

The technical staff of the Egyptian national team made six changes during the match: Rami Rabia replaced Hamdi Fathy in the 41st minute, then Mahmoud Hassan (Trezeguet) was introduced instead of Omar Marmoush, and Hamza Abdel Karim replaced Mostafa Zico in the 76th minute.

Ahmed Sayed “Zizou” came on for Imam Ashour in the 84th minute and Hossam Abdel Majid replaced Mohamed Salah before Mohamed Abdel Moneim came on for Hossam Abdel Majid in the 9th minute.

A sixth change was made as second-half substitute Hossam Abdel Majid suffered a head injury, requiring FIFA’s head injury protocol to be applied.

The regulation stipulates that an additional substitution is allowed when a player is suspected of suffering a head injury or concussion, which gave Egypt the right to make a sixth substitution during the match.

This is Egypt’s first ever victory in the World Cup finals, after they failed to win any in their previous appearances in the 1934, 1990 and 2018 editions, before being able to write a new chapter in their history in 2026.

The win took Egypt to the top of Group G with four points, ahead of second-placed Iran and third-placed Belgium with two points each, while New Zealand is bottom with one point.