Mohamed Salah has built a career on rewriting the record books and the Egypt captain did so again on Sunday, scoring and setting up another goal as his side fought back to beat New Zealand 3-1 in Vancouver for a historic first World Cup victory.After an underwhelming final season at Liverpool by his own lofty standards, the 34-year-old Salah has responded impressively on the global stage, registering a goal and two assists in two matches at this tournament.Though no longer at his peak following the end of his glittering nine-year spell on Merseyside, Salah remains Egypt’s primary attacking threat.Hossam Hassan again deployed Salah in a central role behind striker Omar Marmoush in a 4-2-3-1 formation, flanked by Emam Ashour and Mostafa Zico.The Egypt coach had expressed his satisfaction with Salah’s adaptation to the unfamiliar position before the match, and the forward once more proved influential at BC Place.Roared on by a crowd heavily weighted in Egypt’s favour, with swathes of red shirts and Liverpool jerseys in the stands, Salah was at the heart of everything positive.Though largely peripheral in a subdued first half, he took control after the interval, finishing with five attempts on goal, two on target, and claiming man-of-the-match honours.Egypt’s resurgence began in the 58th minute when Zico headed in Mohamed Hany’s cross to cancel out New Zealand’s opener. Momentum quickly shifted.Nine minutes later, Salah exchanged passes with Zico in a slick one-two before curling home a left-footed finish. He then turned provider, delivering an outswinging corner that Mahmoud Trezeguet powered home to seal the victory.“We can make history and qualify top of the group, and in the years to come you will remember this as one of our best achievements,” Salah said.“We just have to enjoy today, enjoy tomorrow, and then focus on the next game.“It feels like we are playing in Egypt, with all the fans wearing red. Everybody is happy and excited. I do not know what to say — it is a great atmosphere.”Egypt, who drew 1-1 with Belgium in their opener, moved top of the group with four points from two matches. The All Whites, held 2-2 by Iran in their firs game, are bottom with one point.Egypt next face second-placed Iran in Seattle.Statistically, Egypt had the better of the overall possession, but the figures only partially reflected the story. New Zealand were industrious in the opening period, maintaining a compact shape that limited Egypt’s attacking fluency.After half time, however, the Egyptians showed far greater urgency and creativity in the final third, with Salah orchestrating a marked improvement in tempo.The result marked a major step in reshaping Egypt’s modest World Cup history, which had previously been defined by first-round exits in 1934, 1990 and 2018 - a stark contrast to the nation’s record seven Africa Cup of Nations titles.Salah led Egypt to their first-ever World Cup victory as they recovered to beat New Zealand 3-1, moving top of Group G and boosting their hopes of reaching the knockout stage.Egypt, pre-match favourites with Salah and Omar Marmoush spearheading the attack, were backed by a vocal crowd at BC Place. However, slack defending cost them early as New Zealand defender Finn Surman rose to power home a 15th-minute header from Tim Payne’s corner, silencing the sea of red.Mostafa Zizo met Mohamed Hany’s cross in the 58th minute to head home the equaliser. Nine minutes later, Zico combined with Salah in a quick one-two before the Egypt captain bent in a powerful left-footed finish, and Trezeguet added a third with a superb header from Salah’s outswinging corner.Egypt, who drew 1-1 with Belgium in their opener, moved top of the group with four points from two matches. The All Whites, held 2-2 by Iran in their opener, are bottom with one point.Also on Sunday night (early hours of Monday SA time) 10-man Belgium were held to a 0-0 draw by Iran in their World Cup Group G match in Los Angeles.Boosted by an LA crowd largely in their corner, Iran repelled waves of attacks, with goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand making seven saves on a mostly sunny day in Southern California.We can make history and qualify top of the group, and in the years to come you will remember this as one of our best achievements— Mohamed SalahIn a frustrating game where they dominated possession, Belgium were reduced to 10 men after Nathan Ngoy was shown a red card for hauling down Mehdi Taremi, who was through on goal, in the second half.Iran have two points and will next face Egypt in Seattle on Friday while Belgium, also on two points, play New Zealand in Vancouver.After Spain thrashed Saudi Arabia 4-0 in an earlier Group H game, Uruguay and Cape Verde played out a 2-2 draw in their second match in which the tournament debutants went toe-to-toe with the South American heavyweights in an entertaining, end-to-end game.Cape Verde, who drew 0-0 with the Spanish in their opening match, took the lead in the 21st minute after Telmo Arcanjo earned a free kick following a blistering run and Kevin Pina stepped up to drill home a low shot from 31 metres out for his country’s first ever goal at the World Cup finals.Uruguay turned things around before halftime, however, when Maxi Araujo pounced on a rebound to equalise with a header before he set up Agustin Canobbio with another header to make it 2-1 at the break.Cape Verde substitute Helio Varela struck two minutes after coming on in the second half when he pounced on Mathias Olivera’s loose back pass in no man’s land, drawing the goalkeeper off his line to fire into an empty net.Both teams are on two points behind group leaders Spain, who have four points heading into the final round of games.