New Zealand Player Warns of Egypt’s Strength Ahead of 2026 World Cup Clash

Elijah Just, a player for the New Zealand national team, has issued a warning about the formidable strength of Egypt ahead of their anticipated match in the 2026 World Cup, which will take place in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. This statement follows New Zealand’s 2-2 draw with Iran in their opening match.

New Zealand is competing in Group F alongside Egypt, Belgium, and Iran, with each team vying for a spot in the knockout stages of this highly competitive group.

At 26 years old, Just has made history by becoming the first New Zealander to score in a World Cup and is now the nation’s all-time top scorer in World Cup history after netting two goals against Iran.

Commenting on his achievement, Just told the BBC: “It’s a memory that will stay with me for the rest of my life.”.

He added, “It’s very special; we have many goals as we enter this tournament. The first was to earn points, so getting one point against Iran feels sufficient.”.

Just expressed optimism about his team’s performance: “There are many positives we can build on. It was unfortunate that we missed out on participating in the last World Cup (2022), so being here today feels fantastic.”.

Regarding their opening match’s result, he stated: “Getting a point at the start of our journey makes everyone happy. Our goal entering this tournament is to advance from the group stage, so there’s slight disappointment because we could have secured three points.”.

When asked about New Zealand’s potential to surprise in the tournament, he remarked: “If people are surprised, maybe they haven’t been following us closely because we have a very talented group and we are working hard.”.

Just acknowledged Egypt’s strength by saying: “We know we have strong opponents; we’ve all seen Egypt’s match against Belgium and know how powerful they are. So we have a lot of work ahead of us against the Pharaohs.”.

He concluded his remarks by stating: “Getting a point in the World Cup is always difficult; there was a lot of confidence. It was nearly a perfect match except for the result.”.