New Zealand disappointed with weak response to Egypt's second-half 'storm'

New Zealand's Finn Surman (16) and Egypt's Omar Marmoush (22) compete for the ball during the World Cup Group G soccer match between New Zealand and Egypt in Vancouver, British Columbia, Sunday, June 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Kaleb Tatum)

VANCOUVER — They knew the storm was coming — New Zealand just couldn’t weather it.

An early goal stoked New Zealand’s hopes for winning the country’s first FIFA World Cup match, but that dream was crushed by the harsh reality of a 3-1 loss to Egypt on Sunday before a sellout crowd of 52,497 at BC Place Stadium.

Egypt scored three times in the second half to move into first place in Group G and set up a crucial match for New Zealand on Friday against Belgium, back at BC Place.

Lacking Egypt’s technical quality, New Zealand — ranked 85th in the world — was content to play defence. They sent long balls down the field and waited for Egypt to make mistakes.

Egypt, ranked 29th, wasn’t intimidated and sent waves of attackers into the New Zealand zone.

Midfielder Mostafa Ziko tied the match in the 58th minute, then Mohamed Salah put Egypt ahead in the 67th. Mahmoud Trezeguet made it 3-1 in the 82nd minute to give Egypt its first-ever win in its fourth World Cup appearance.

New Zealand captain Chris Wood said his side knew Egypt, cheered on by a loud partisan crowd, wouldn’t go down without a fight.

“They were always going to come out in the second half, show their class, and try and change the game,” said Wood, a forward with the English Premier League club Nottingham Forest. “We expected that. We have to weather the storm. You have to get through it. Goals change games. They scored. They were clinical.”

Defender Finn Surman opened the scoring for New Zealand in the 15th minute when he jumped high in the air to head home a corner kick from Tim Payne.

Surman, a 22-year-old from Christchurch, plays for the MLS Portland Timbers. He joined the Timbers from Australian A-League side Wellington Phoenix in July 2024.

Surman also made a couple key defensive plays, including blocking a shot from Emam Ashour in the 55th minute.

Wood said he was left “extremely gutted” by the loss.

New Zealand head coach Darren Bazeley said his side lost its momentum.

“It’s frustrating,” he said. “We played so well in the first half, scored a great goal, created lots of chances. We were comfortable.

“In the second half, we just weren’t able to recreate the tempo and quality that we showed in the first half. Egypt came out with a different attitude and upped the tempo. They are a very good team … but it’s frustrating to end up losing. That could be us celebrating on the pitch.”

New Zealand will need at least a draw against Belgium to have any hope of advancing to the knockout round in the 48-team tournament.

Wood said the team must regroup and refocus.

“We’ve just got to believe,” he said. “We’ve done extremely well on the world stage already. We’ve got to believe we can go and take it to some of the best teams in the world.

“We’re in the World Cup for a reason. I believe we can beat Belgium. It’s going to be tough, no matter what, but that’s what we’re here for.”

For Salah, who plays for the Premier League club Liverpool, it was his third World Cup goal, making him Egypt’s all-time leading goal scorer in the tournament.

He praised New Zealand’s gritty performance.

“They are a tough team, they were sharp in the first half,” he said. “We managed to come back in the game and we were mentally strong.”

Egypt leads Group G with four points from a 1-0-1 record. Iran and Belgium are both 0-0-2 for two points, while New Zealand has one point from a draw.

New Zealand opened the tournament with a 2-2 draw against Iran in Inglewood, Calif. In its first game Egypt tied Belgium 1-1.

Earlier Sunday Belgium and Iran played to a scoreless draw.

New Zealand previously had qualified for the 1982 and 2010 World Cup. They managed three loses and three draws in those two appearances.

This report by Jim Morris, The Canadian Press, was first published June 21, 2026.