After a relatively quiet first half that saw it go in behind at the break, Egypt and Salah turned up the heat in the second period as the 34 year-old winger showed he is still capable of conjuring magic from his boots.

"It's a great achievement for all the players. It's a great win. It's a great vibe. The next game is very important," Salah said as he took the plaudits amongst his teammates.

Egypt, which drew 1-1 with Belgium in its opener, moved top of the group with four points from two matches. The All Whites, held 2-2 by Iran in their opener, are bottom with one point. Belgium was held 0-0 by the Iranians earlier in the matchday.

New Zealand’s first-half game plan was as simple as it was effective, kicking long when it needed to and keeping possession when it could, and defender Finn Surman broke the deadlock from a corner, losing marker Ahmed Fatouh before steering a powerful header into the net.

Though Callum McCowatt had a glancing header tipped over the bar early on for New Zealand, Egypt piled on the pressure after the break and they levelled through Mostafa Zico, who headed home Mohamed Hany's cross from the right in the 58th minute.

Salah then finally gave the crowd what they wanted nine minutes later, breaking forward down the right and playing a one-two with Zico before slotting the ball into the far corner.

Salah almost scored his second in the 81st minute, cutting in from the right and firing a deflected shot over, but he notched an assist from the resulting corner as substitute Mahmoud Trezeguet dived to head home at the near post.

The New Zealanders gave it all they had to reduce the deficit and Hossam Abdelmaguid had to be replaced late on with a suspected concussion, his eye swelling up as he left the field.

By the 10th minute of stoppage time, the Egyptian fans were whistling loudly for the referee to end the game.

When he did, an ear-splitting roar went up as Salah and company made history with the country's first World Cup win and coach Hossam Hassan lapped the stadium with an Egyptian flag.