Dallas stages one of the round's true coin-flips, and it hinges on one hamstring. Egypt reached their first-ever World Cup knockout second in Group G, but the alarm is loud: Mohamed Salah limped off against Iran with a hamstring strain and is a genuine doubt. That matters enormously — Salah had a hand in five of Egypt's six group goal contributions, with Omar Marmoush the only other reliable creative outlet. If Salah is fit enough to start, Egypt have the single best player on the pitch and the likeliest source of a decisive moment.

Australia's young side defends honestly — they beat Turkiye 2-0 and shut out Paraguay 0-0 — but they failed to score in two of three group games and have never won a World Cup knockout. In a tie both teams will want to keep tight, goals will be scarce, and quality in the final third decides it. The market reads it as roughly 6/4 Egypt with a 1-0, Under 2.5 the popular call. Back Egypt to edge it through a Salah half-chance, but treat this as a true 50/50 that could easily reach extra time if he can't go.