Finn Surman headed the All Whites in front from Tim Payne's corner on fifteen minutes, and New Zealand's first-half performance was the better of the two. Egypt were flat, failing to impose themselves, and Salah's most notable contribution before the break was to bend a free-kick wide of the left-hand post.
The second half brought a transformation. Egypt built pressure steadily until Mostafa Zico headed in Mohamed Hany's cross on fifty-eight minutes, and within ten minutes the turnaround was complete. Salah exchanged passes with Zico before sweeping home to put Egypt ahead for the first time in the contest — the 34-year-old becoming the oldest goalscorer for Egypt at a World Cup and the oldest African player on record to both score and assist in the same World Cup match.
Substitute Trezeguet then dived to head a Salah corner past Max Crocombe on eighty-two minutes to complete a 3-1 win, the first time in Egypt's history they had scored three goals in a single World Cup game.
Goalkeeper Mostafa Shobeir kept a clean sheet after the concession — and his post-match words reflected how much the result meant.
"Getting the first win for our country, it's just something — I don't know, I don't have the words. I'm speechless. It's truly something great. We're so happy to have achieved this. It's the first one for Egypt in our history and, inshallah, it's not the last one."
Salah, who captained the side, was similarly emotional.
"It's incredible. I don't know how to express it in words.
"It's a great achievement for all the players, for the staff. Hopefully we can carry on like this in the group and we can write history and qualify — and in years to come it will be remembered as one of the best achievements in the history of Egyptian football. We have to enjoy today, enjoy tomorrow, then focus on the next game."
For New Zealand, the defeat leaves them needing a win against Belgium in their final group game to keep alive any hope of reaching the knockout rounds. Head coach Darren Bazeley was blunt in his assessment of where the game was lost.
"It's disappointing. We were so good in the first half. We dominated possession and created a lot of chances. We came out in the second half and I thought we were okay but we didn't quite get to the pace of the game. Egypt upped the tempo and we couldn't replicate what we were doing so well in the first half. Ultimately, that hurt us. We're still one game away from making history. We know we have to beat Belgium now."
Egypt top Group G and need only a draw against Iran in Seattle on June 26 to secure a place in the last thirty-two.