New Zealand and Egypt are all set to play a crucial encounter in Group G of the FIFA World Cup 2026 at Vancouver's BC Place stadium.
Both teams are coming into the fixture after playing out draws in their respective opening games. New Zealand's game against Iran ended in a 2-2 entertaining draw while Egypt were solid against Belgium in a 1-1 draw.
Both teams will be keen to get their first win of the tournament and take a significant step towards making it to the next round.
Here's everything you need to know about the match.
How to watch:
The match will be available on ITV in the UK, Fox Sports in the U.S., Zee5 in India and SBS in Australia. You can also follow ESPN's live updates.
Key Details:
Date, kick-off time:
U.S. ET: 9 p.m.. Sunday, June 21
UK BST: 2 a.m., Monday, June 22
India IST: 6:30 a.m. Monday, June 22
Australia AEST: 11 a.m., Monday, June 22
Venue: BC Place Vancouver
Referee: Omar Alali
Team News
New Zealand - Predicted XI
Max Crocombe; Liberato Cacace, Michael Boxall, Finn Surman,Tim Payne; Marko Stamenic, Joe Bell; Elijah Just, Sarpreet Singh, Callum McCowatt; Chris Wood.
Egypt - Predicted XI:
Mostafa Shobeir; Ahmed Fotouh, Hamdi Fathy, Yasser Ibrahim, Mohamed Hany; Marwan Ateya, Mohanad Lasheen; Emam Ashour, Mohamed Salah, Mostafa Zico; Omar Marmoush.
Talking Points
New Zealand's direct style bodes well for the team
Even though there's a significant gulf in quality, New Zealand took the game to Iran and scored twice. The game was frantic in nature with non-stop action from one end to another and saw four goals in total. Chris Wood and Elijah Just combined twice with the latter netting a brace for his team.
For a team that is ranked lowest among all the 48 nations, the direct style actually worked really well for them. They didn't waste too much time keeping the ball and were positive going forward. Against Egypt, they will want to do the same. It's also good news for them that Wood was involved in both the goals against Iran. He's their main man up front and after enduring a tough season with Nottingham Forest, it looks like hitting the form with the national team at the right time.
Egypt's firepower should get the job done
Hossam Hassan's team played a decent game against Belgium, even though they couldn't hold on to their lead. Egypt didn't just sit back and allowed all the possession to Belgium. They pushed forward and took the lead thanks to a superb finish from Emam Ashour on a Mohamed Salah assist.
Egypt's attacking strength should see them through against New Zealand. Salah, playing centrally for the national team, got an assist in the opening game and did cause some trouble in the first match even though he was not at his fluent best. Along with him, Ashour, Mostafa Ziko and Omar Marmoush should be a handful against New Zealand. If New Zealand allow too much space behind, like they did against Iran, Egypt's attackers will punish them. Even otherwise, there's enough in Egypt's attacking ranks to secure the win.