Egypt continue their historic World Cup campaign on Friday when they take on Australia in the Round of 32 in Dallas.The North African side secured second spot in Group G courtesy of a 1-1 draw with Iran after finishing level on five points with Belgium, but had an inferior goal difference. Their 3-1 victory over New Zealand was Egypt's first win at any World Cup and saw them reach the knockout stage of the global finals for the first time at the fourth attempt.Australia, meanwhile, also finished second following their goalless draw with Paraguay, which moved them to four points, two behind Group D winners, the United States.The Pharaohs will head into the match knowing they have a fantastic opportunity to continue their World Cup quest and seal a potential last-16 battle with reigning champions Argentina.King Salah is backAs the dust settled following the Iran match in Seattle, Egypt were left tending to the walking wounded, which included attacking talisman and team captain Mohamed Salah.The 34-year-old has played a key role in Egypt's campaign, scoring once and assisting a further two. But Salah picked up a hamstring strain, which forced his substitution against the Iranians and threatened to cast a major shadow over the country's celebrations at having progressed out of the group.A similar problem saw him miss three weeks towards the end of Liverpool's 2025/26 season, although he did feature in their final two Premier League matches.But Salah, who has yet to announce where he will be playing club football next season after leaving the English club, returned to training on Tuesday, much to the relief of all concerned. The Egyptian Football Association posted photos of a smiling Salah back on the training pitch at their Spokane base, accompanied by the caption: “The King is back.”Herrington's hopeOne of the Australian players tasked with keeping Salah quiet on Friday could be highly rated young defender Lucas Herrington, who made his World Cup debut in the high-stakes game against Paraguay. The 18-year-old became the youngest Socceroo to start a finals match as he earned only his fifth international cap, helping the team keep a clean sheet, ensuring they qualified for the last 32.“That was the best moment of my life,” said the Colorado Rapids player at Australia's training base in San Francisco. “I knew how ​important that game was, not just for us ‌but for the whole ⁠country … I'd dreamt of that moment since I was ​a kid ‌and I just really wanted to embrace it, enjoy it.”Australia's next aim is to win a knockout-stage match for the first time, and Herrington hopes that Salah will be fit and ready for action. “It's nice to face players like that. ​Really, ⁠that's where you want ‌to be, that's who you want to play against,” added Herrington, who has been linked with a move to Spanish giants Barcelona. “So to be given that opportunity, hopefully, it'll be special, and I can't wait.”Magic from 'Houdini' IrankundaHerrington is not the only player who has been writing his name into Australian sports history books in North America.During the 2-0 group-stage win over Turkey, exciting forward Nestory Irankunda became his country's youngest World Cup goalscorer at the age of 20 years and 125 days, smashing the record held by Brett Holman (26 years and 84 days). “It is unreal and a dream come true,” said Irankunda after being named player of the match.It was a youthful side picked by coach Tony Popovic to take on the Turks, with Irankunda – nicknamed “Houdini” by teammate Mohamed Toure – one of 10 players making their finals debut.Irankunda's backstory is an emotive one: he was born in a Tanzanian refugee camp in 2006 to Burundian parents who had fled their homeland because of civil war.He left A-League side Adelaide United to join Bayern Munich in 2023, but quit the German giants, having not played a single game for the senior side and spent last season at English second-tier team Watford.Hassan aims higherSitting alongside fiery manager Hossam Hassan in the Egypt dugout on Friday will be his equally no-nonsense twin brother and team director, Ibrahim. The pair have long been part of the Egyptian football fabric as players and coaches who have never been shy of sharing their opinions.Egypt team director Ibrahim Hassan. ReutersInfoIt was Ibrahim who incorrectly predicted that Salah had played his last game for Liverpool when the forward picked up his hamstring injury in April, while he also insisted ahead of the World Cup that Egypt always “outperforms all Arab teams” – a statement that might come as some surprise to the likes of Morocco, semi-finalists in Qatar four years ago.And despite the team's historic efforts at the World Cup, Ibrahim insisted that the team's ambitions remain high. “Our first goal is to make the Egyptian fans happy, and what has been achieved so far does not mean that we have reached our goal,” he said ahead of the Australia match.“We have great ambitions, and we dream of continuing the journey and reaching the furthest point possible in the tournament, and we do not set a ceiling for our ambitions.”