History is possibly only 90 minutes away for the Socceroos as they gear up to face Egypt on Saturday morning (Australian time) in Dallas.

The Socceroos have only made it to a knockout game at a World Cup twice but lost both times.

The Round of 32 clash will be only the third time these two teams have met in senior men’s competition: Egypt beat Australia 3-0 in 2010, and in 1987 the Socceroos beat Egypt in a penalty shoot-out at the President’s Cup in South Korea after a 0-0 stalemate.

So, who are the key players, what tactics will the coaches look to implement, and how may the clash pan out?

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How did each team get here?

This is the Socceroos’ seventh World Cup: they first appeared in 1974, then returned after a 32-year absence in 2006 and have not missed once since.

But a win against Egypt would be a first knockout-round victory.

The Socceroos qualified from Group D after a promising yet patchy group stage: they surprised many by beating Turkey 2-0, then played poorly to lose 2-0 to the United States, before a 0-0 draw against Paraguay ensured they reached the knockout round.

Egypt is also out to create history. The Pharaohs have qualified for the World Cup four times: 1934, 1990, 2018 and this year. In their previous three appearances, they........

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