SOCCER: Egypt, New Zealand field unchanged teams in hunt for historic World Cup win

VANCOUVER — Egypt head coach Hossam Hassan named an unchanged starting lineup for Sunday’s Group G match against New Zealand, as both teams continue their pursuit of a first-ever FIFA World Cup victory.

Egypt captain Mohamed Salah will once again lead the attack and look to score his first goal of the tournament after registering an assist for Emam Ashour in their opening match. Egypt are still chasing their maiden World Cup win.

New Zealand, meanwhile, have also kept faith with the same starting XI. Captain and all-time leading scorer Chris Wood anchors the attack for the “All Whites,” who are also targeting their first-ever World Cup victory after a 2–2 draw with Iran in their opener.

Both sides enter the match with momentum from their opening performances but remain under pressure to convert promising starts into a historic win on the world stage.

Lineups:

New Zealand: Max Crocombe; Tim Payne, Michael Boxall, Liberato Cacace, Finn Surman; Joe Bell, Marko Stamenic, Sarpreet Singh, Elijah Just, Callum McCowatt; Chris Wood.

Egypt: Mostafa Shobeir; Yasser Ibrahim, Mohamed Hany, Ahmed Fatouh; Emam Ashour, Mostafa Ziko, Hamdy Fathy, Mohanad Lasheen, Marwan Attia; Mohamed Salah, Omar Marmoush.

-Reporting by Pearl Josephine Nazare in Vancouver; Editing by Ken Ferris/Reuters