Round of 32 · Match 16
AustraliavsEgypt
2026-07-03·13:00 local·AT&T Stadium · DallasPredictions finalised
Match signals
Factors that favour each side, from statistical models to group stage form and match conditions. Longer bars = stronger advantage.
The model rates Australia slightly higher (36% vs 29%), but the wider signals actually favour Egypt. That tension makes this one of the harder matches to read.
📊What the Models Say
Rates teams by a single strength number updated after every match. Simpler but fast to react. It rates Australia at 49% to win vs Egypt at 29%.
Simulates the goal-scoring process using attack and defence strength. The heaviest-weighted model. It sees this as very close: Australia 34%, Egypt 30%.
Groups teams by confederation to share information. Helps for teams with fewer matches. It sees this as very close: Australia 35%, Egypt 31%.
The published probability after calibration and adjustments. This is what the model says. It rates Australia at 36% to win vs Egypt at 29%.
The models are split: 1 favour Australia, 0 favour Egypt, 2 call it even. Genuine uncertainty.
⚽Tournament Form
Egypt collected 6 points (1W 3D 1L) vs Australia's 5 (1W 2D 1L). A stronger tournament record.
Egypt averaged 1.6 goals per match vs Australia's 0.75. More firepower coming in.
Australia conceded just 0.75 goals/match vs Egypt's 1.4. Tighter at the back.
Egypt's goal difference of +1 is better than Australia's +0. They outperformed opponents by more.
📈Momentum
Egypt's rating rose +27.2 during the tournament while Australia's moved +1.3. The tournament has been kinder to Egypt.
Australia's players improved their form ratings during the tournament (+0.0110) vs Egypt (+0.0087). Players trending upward.
🏆Team Quality
Australia is rated 1783 vs Egypt's 1689 (gap: 94). That's a noticeable gap in historical team strength.
Very similar expected output: Australia 0.78 xG, Egypt 0.73 xG.
Similar star-player quality in both squads.
Similar levels of squad familiarity from club football.
🌍Match Conditions
Egypt traveled 11,401km vs Australia's 15,046km. A shorter journey means less fatigue.
Egypt face a 8h timezone shift vs Australia's 15h. Less jet lag disruption.
17 signals across 5 categories. Signal strength reflects how large the gap is between the two teams on each factor. Signals are descriptive, not prescriptive.
The forecast
Match-outcome probability
- Australia win38.6%
- Draw33.3%
- Egypt win28.0%
The model projects one of the most closely-contested fixtures of the round — Australia and Egypt are separated by fine margins across every outcome.
▸Goals & scorelines
Likeliest score 0–0 (22.8%) · xG 0.8 - 0.7
Expected goals
Mean of the Dixon-Coles joint goal distribution. Same fit that produces the most-likely-scoreline list below.
Most likely scorelines
- 0–022.8%
- 1–016.5%
- 0–115.3%
- 1–113.4%
- 2–06.8%
From the Dixon-Coles joint Poisson with the low-score correction. Scorelines are listed in probability order; this is a description of the model's distribution, not a recommendation.
Most likely half-time scorelines
- 0–047.4%
- 1–018.0%
- 0–116.7%
- 1–17.1%
- 2–03.6%
Same Dixon-Coles fit as the full-time list above, with rates halved to a 45-minute window and the low-score correction applied to that 1st-half block. The 0-0 row sits higher here than at full-time because fewer minutes have elapsed.
Goal totals
- More than 0.5 goals77.2%
- More than 1.5 goals45.4%
- More than 2.5 goals19.4%
- More than 3.5 goals6.7%
- More than 4.5 goals1.9%
- More than 5.5 goals0.5%
- Both teams score28.9%
Each row is the probability the match finishes with more than the listed number of goals. Both-teams-to-score is the probability each side scores at least once. All values are marginals of the Dixon-Coles joint goal grid that produces the scoreline list above — not market lines or any other operator construct.
Event-typed probabilities
- Australia clean sheetOpposing team scores zero48.3%
- Egypt clean sheetOpposing team scores zero45.7%
Derived from the same Dixon-Coles joint distribution as the scoreline list. These are descriptive event probabilities — see CLAUDE.md §3/§4 (formerly COMPLIANCE.md §4.2.7) for the framing the project uses.
Win-margin probability
- Australia by 4+0.5%
- Australia by 3+2.5%
- Australia by 2+10.6%
- Australia by 1+32.6%
- Draw38.1%
- Egypt by 1+29.3%
- Egypt by 2+9.0%
- Egypt by 3+2.0%
- Egypt by 4+0.3%
Each row is the probability the match ends with the listed margin or larger in that direction. Marginal of the Dixon-Coles joint goal grid; the “by 1+” rows plus the draw row sum to 1.
▸How the match unfolds
Over 2.5 goals 19.4% · BTTS 28.9%
Game state through the match
- Australia ahead33.3%
- Level36.5%
- Egypt ahead30.1%
Probability of each game state at minutes 0, 15, 30, 45, 60, 75, 90 — derived from two independent thinned-Poisson processes with the Dixon-Coles per-team rates. The three lines always sum to 1 at each minute. The right column shows the state at the match's closing minute.
When the first goal arrives
- 0–1522.3%
- 15–3017.3%
- 30–4513.5%
- 45–6010.5%
- 60–758.1%
- 75–906.3%
- No goal22.0%
Probability the match's first goal arrives in each 15-minute window. Homogeneous Poisson with combined rate λ = λh + λa from the Dixon-Coles fit; the seven rows (six windows + no-goal tail) sum to 1.
Half-time / full-time grid
| HT ↓ / FT → | HAustralia win | DDraw | AEgypt win |
|---|---|---|---|
| HAustralia ahead | 19.2% | 3.7% | 0.7% |
| DLevel | 13.2% | 29.5% | 12.1% |
| AEgypt ahead | 0.8% | 3.7% | 17.2% |
Each cell is P(half-time result, full-time result). All nine cells sum to 1. Derived from a halved-λ Dixon-Coles fit for the first half plus an independent-Poisson second-half convolution.
Comeback probability
- Australia trail at HT, avoid defeat at FT4.5%
- Egypt trail at HT, avoid defeat at FT4.4%
Joint probability — P(side trailing at half-time AND avoiding defeat at full-time). NOT conditional on trailing at HT. Derived from the same half-time / full-time decomposition that produces the HT/FT grid above; a tied first half is neither a home nor an away comeback opportunity.
PK shootout simulator
If the match ends level after extra time, the model estimates the shootout outcome from each team's Bayesian-smoothed conversion / save rate (Model #15). The bracket simulator uses the symmetric (averaged) ordering; the two what-if scenarios below show how the win probabilities shift when conditioning on which team kicks first.
- Australia35.0%
- Egypt65.0%
- Australia46.3%
- Egypt53.7%
- Australia23.3%
- Egypt76.7%
First-kicker advantage
The first kicker's per-kick conversion rate is scaled by ×1.050 (about +5.0%), stacked on the Markov chain's structural asymmetry. Real World Cup shootouts use a coin toss for kicker order, so on average the order is 50/50 — the symmetric path above is the relevant number for a single fixture. The ordering-conditioned probabilities are a descriptive what-if scenario.
Literature: first kickers win ≈ 60% historically (Apesteguia & Palacios-Huerta, American Economic Review 2010; Vandebroek et al. 2016).
Per-team posteriors: Australia conv 71.4%, save 20.0%; Egypt conv 75.0%, save 27.5%. Smoothed against the global prior with prior strength 20 — see /docs/methodology/.
▸Teams & players
Top scorer: Salah (17.0%)
Match detail
Australia
Model-rated key players: Brandon Borrello (FW) — P(scores) 2.0%; Mitch Duke (FW) — P(scores) 1.6%; Martin Boyle (FW) — P(scores) 1.5%.
Australia under Tony Popovic play a transition heavy game, with just 44% possession — among the lowest in the field. Their likely shape is a 4-4-2, though they have also used 4-2-3-1 and 4-3-3. They sit deeper and pick their moments to press (PPDA 37.0). They are selective in their shooting (8.0 per 90).
Australia rely on defensive discipline and quick transitions — absorbing pressure and converting turnovers into attacking chances. Concentration and defensive organisation for full 90-minute stretches will determine whether the approach holds against top opposition.
Egypt
Model-rated key players: Mohamed Salah (FW) — P(scores) 17.0%; Omar Marmoush (FW) — P(scores) 12.5%; Trézéguet (FW) — P(scores) 8.6%.
Egypt under Hossam Hassan play a pragmatic game with 51% possession. They apply moderate pressing intensity (PPDA 21.8). They generate a high volume of shots (13.7 per 90).
Egypt play a pragmatic, results-oriented game that adapts shape to the opposition. Tactical flexibility is their strength. The risk is inconsistency — without a default identity, a poor result can cascade if the team struggles to find a Plan B. Managing the fitness of Mohamed Salah could prove decisive — their availability transforms the team's ceiling.
Egypt converts 17.3% from set-pieces (0.13 expected). Combined, the model expects 0.13 set-piece goals across the 90 minutes.
- P(Egypt scores set-piece goal) 11.8%
- P(set-piece goal in match) 11.8%
Australia: Ajdin Hrustić on free kicks (per fbref 2022 23)
If a penalty is awarded to Australia, the model gives 71.4% conversion, 75.0% for Egypt. If this match goes to a shootout, the symmetric (coin-toss averaged) win probability is 35.0% Australia / 65.0% Egypt.
Egypt primary PK: Mohamed Salah (5/6 in 2021-22, per fbref 2021 22).
Derived from the model's per-fixture forecast joint and supporting reference data (predicted squads, set-piece xG share, PK posteriors, club minutes). See /docs/methodology/ for the full methodology.
Squad depth
Most irreplaceable starters
Australia
- Mathew RyanGoalkeeperCover: Paul Izzo · 0.330.56gap
- Nestory IrankundaWingerCover: Nishan Velupillay · 0.090.36gap
- Connor MetcalfeCentral midfieldCover: Patrick Yazbek · 0.420.33gap
Egypt
- Omar MarmoushStrikerNo natural backup0.69gap
- Mohamed SalahWingerCover: Ibrahim Adel · 0.390.35gap
- Emam AshourCentral midfieldCover: Mahmoud Saber · 0.130.26gap
Gap = how far a side's rating at the position falls from the starter to his likely in-squad replacement (named under each name). Larger = harder to replace. Descriptive metric, does not feed the published probabilities. Methodology →
Match conditions
- AltitudeNear sea level168 m
- Avg temperatureFive-year mean over the tournament window29.4 °C
- Avg humidity63%
- Heat stressShade WBGT ~30.8 °CHigh heat stress
- Pitch surfacetemporary natural grass over artificial turf
Indoor artificial-turf stadium; a temporary natural-grass pitch on a sand root-zone is laid over the turf for the tournament.
Heat stress is a shade Wet-Bulb Globe Temperature proxy from the venue's climatology mean temperature and humidity; FIFA mandates cooling breaks at WBGT 32 °C. Afternoon kickoff (local time). These are long-window averages, not a match-day forecast, and they are not inputs to the forecast.
Top scorers · P(scores in this match)
- Brandon BorrelloFW2.0%
- Mitch DukeFW1.6%
- Martin BoyleFW1.5%
- Mohamed SalahPKFW17.0%
- Omar MarmoushFW12.5%
- TrézéguetFW8.6%
Per-player scoring rate from Model #5 (`p_score_per_match`). Reflects each player's npxG/90, expected minutes, team xG share, and the average opposing-team defence. See /docs/methodology/.
Recent match form
Last match player ratings
Australia
vs Paraguay · avg 7.2
Egypt
vs Iran · avg 7.2
Player scores from official highlight analysis of each team's most recent match. Observational, not a model input. Methodology →
Video analysis: player performance
Per-player ratings and event breakdowns from official highlights analysis. Tap a player to see their full match timeline.
8Patrick Beach45'–118'Made several crucial saves, including a fantastic one from Salah, keeping Australia in contention throughout regular and extra time.
5saves▼
Made several crucial saves, including a fantastic one from Salah, keeping Australia in contention throughout regular and extra time.
Match timeline
7Cristian Volpato4'–45'Showed good attacking intent with two shots on target, testing the goalkeeper.
2shots2on target▼
Showed good attacking intent with two shots on target, testing the goalkeeper.
Match timeline
7Harry Souttar15'–54'Scored Australia's equalizer and made a vital defensive block, but his penalty miss was costly in the shootout.
1goals1blocks1headers▼
Scored Australia's equalizer and made a vital defensive block, but his penalty miss was costly in the shootout.
Match timeline
7Jackson Irvine87'–87'Showed leadership in midfield, had a header wide, and confidently converted his penalty in the shootout.
1shots1headers▼
Showed leadership in midfield, had a header wide, and confidently converted his penalty in the shootout.
Match timeline
6Jordan Bos5'–5'Made a dangerous attacking run but didn't have further notable contributions.
▼
Made a dangerous attacking run but didn't have further notable contributions.
Match timeline
6Aziz Behich34'–34'Registered a shot on target, contributing to Australia's offensive efforts from left-back.
1shots1on target▼
Registered a shot on target, contributing to Australia's offensive efforts from left-back.
Match timeline
6Nestory Irankunda73'–73'Played for 73 minutes without any notable positive or negative contributions.
▼
Played for 73 minutes without any notable positive or negative contributions.
Match timeline
6Awer MabilCame on as a substitute and calmly scored his penalty in the shootout.
Came on as a substitute and calmly scored his penalty in the shootout.
3Lucas HerringtonMissed a crucial penalty in the shootout, hitting the crossbar, which was a critical moment for Australia.
1shots▼
Missed a crucial penalty in the shootout, hitting the crossbar, which was a critical moment for Australia.
Match timeline
8Emam Ashour12'–108'Scored Egypt's opening goal with a header and had another shot on target, proving a significant offensive threat.
2goals1shots1on target2headers▼
Scored Egypt's opening goal with a header and had another shot on target, proving a significant offensive threat.
Match timeline
8Mostafa Shobeir4'–45'Made several important saves from Australian shots, contributing significantly to Egypt's defensive effort and keeping them in the game.
3saves▼
Made several important saves from Australian shots, contributing significantly to Egypt's defensive effort and keeping them in the game.
Match timeline
7Ramy Rabia5'–92'Made a crucial defensive intervention and contributed to set-piece attacks.
1shots1on target1blocks1headers▼
Made a crucial defensive intervention and contributed to set-piece attacks.
Match timeline
7Omar Marmoush15'–20'Was a constant threat in attack with multiple shots and dangerous dribbles, creating chances for Egypt.
2shots▼
Was a constant threat in attack with multiple shots and dangerous dribbles, creating chances for Egypt.
Match timeline
7Hossam Abdelmaguid66'–120'Came on as a substitute and scored the decisive penalty to win the shootout for Egypt with composure.
1goals▼
Came on as a substitute and scored the decisive penalty to win the shootout for Egypt with composure.
Match timeline
6Hamdy Fathy66'–66'Played for 66 minutes without any notable positive or negative contributions.
▼
Played for 66 minutes without any notable positive or negative contributions.
Match timeline
6Karim Hafez79'–79'Played for 79 minutes without any notable positive or negative contributions.
▼
Played for 79 minutes without any notable positive or negative contributions.
Match timeline
6Marwan Attia120'–120'Played for the entire match and was substituted just before the penalty shootout.
▼
Played for the entire match and was substituted just before the penalty shootout.
Match timeline
6Mahmoud Saber120'–120'Came on as a substitute just before the penalty shootout.
▼
Came on as a substitute just before the penalty shootout.
Match timeline
5Mohamed Toure73'–119'Came on as a substitute but only notable action was committing a foul late in the game.
1fouls▼
Came on as a substitute but only notable action was committing a foul late in the game.
Match timeline
5TrezeguetCame on as a substitute but received a yellow card shortly after for a foul.
Came on as a substitute but received a yellow card shortly after for a foul.
5Yasser Ibrahim119'–119'Received a yellow card for arguing late in extra time.
1 yellow▼
Received a yellow card for arguing late in extra time.
Match timeline
5Haissem Hassan103'–104'Committed a foul and received a yellow card in extra time.
1fouls1 yellow▼
Committed a foul and received a yellow card in extra time.
Match timeline
4Mohamed Hany55'–55'Unfortunately scored an own goal, deflecting a free-kick into his own net, which led to Australia's equalizer.
1goals▼
Unfortunately scored an own goal, deflecting a free-kick into his own net, which led to Australia's equalizer.
Match timeline
Match observations
- This was a dramatic Round of 32 knockout match that saw Egypt secure a historic victory against Australia after a penalty shootout.
- Egypt took an early lead from a set-piece, but Australia fought back to equalize with an own goal in the second half.
- Both goalkeepers delivered outstanding performances, making numerous crucial saves to keep their teams in contention through regular and extra time.
▸Under the hood
Model-by-model comparison
Australia vs Egypt
| Model | Weight | Home | Draw | Away |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EloRating-based strength estimate | 32% | 48.7% | 22.0% | 29.3% |
| Dixon-ColesGoal-process model with low-score correction | 63% | 34.0% | 36.2% | 29.7% |
| Hierarchical PoissonBayesian model with confederation pooling | 6% | 35.0% | 34.5% | 30.5% |
| Bayesian stackingLearned-weight combination | — | 38.8% | 35.2% | 26.0% |
| Ensemble (published)Uniform average + isotonic calibration | — | 36.5% | 34.3% | 29.2% |
How each model works
- Elo
- Each team carries a single strength rating updated after every match by a margin-aware K-factor. Match probabilities come from the logistic function of the rating gap. Elo is fast-adapting but coarse — it sees only who won and by how much, not how the goals were scored.
- Dixon-Coles
- A Poisson regression on team-level attack and defence parameters, fitted via maximum likelihood with an exponential time-decay weighting. The Dixon-Coles correction adjusts the four low-score cells (0-0, 1-0, 0-1, 1-1) where independent Poisson underestimates dependence. Produces full scoreline distributions, not just H/D/A.
- Hierarchical Poisson
- A Bayesian Poisson model fitted via MCMC (PyMC) with hierarchical priors that pool attack and defence parameters within confederations. Shrinks small-sample teams toward their confederation mean — helpful for nations with few recent competitive fixtures. Slower to fit but better-calibrated on the tails.
- Bayesian stacking
- Optimises simplex weights (w_elo, w_dc, w_hp) to maximise the leave-one-out log-score across a walk-forward backtest (Yao et al. 2018). The result is a weighted average of the three component models' probabilities, then isotonic-calibrated. Adds no extra features — just learns which component to trust more from historical accuracy.
- Ensemble (published)
- Equal-weight average of all three component models, followed by per-class isotonic regression calibration fitted on 24 months of walk-forward out-of-fold predictions. This is the probability published on the site. The uniform mean is deliberately simple — it avoids overfitting to the stacking weights' training window.
Three independent component models feed two combination strategies. The uniform ensemble is the published probability; Bayesian stacking uses learned weights. Amber bars flag >5pp divergence from the published number. Full methodology
Latest news & match context
No recent headlines for Australia or Egypt.
- Stage:
- Round of 32 · Match 16
- Date:
- 3 Jul
- Venue:
- AT&T Stadium, Dallas
a 29°C kickoff modestly suppresses expected scoring at this venue.
Ranked by likely importance. None of these feed the forecast: the probabilities rest on team strength, venue conditions and the style matchup.
- 1.Elimination stakes: A one-off elimination tie. Motivation, risk appetite and game management under tournament pressure are not model inputs; the forecast rests on team strength and the style matchup.
- 2.Rest differential: Australia have had 8 days since their previous match versus 7 for Egypt. Rest and recovery are not model inputs.
Australia and Egypt both come in at close to full strength, so the forecast rests on baseline team strength rather than late team-news swings.
Availability from the predicted squads and injury feed; forecast adjustments from the model's own decomposition. See /docs/methodology/.
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