The 2026 World Cup's dubious record: Mohamed Hany's two own goals

Mohamed Hany, an Egyptian right-back, made his World Cup debut with something no player wants for himself: two own goals in the same tournament, something no one else had done in nearly a century of World Cups. The first came on June 15, in Egypt's opening match against Belgium — a header that ended up in his own net and left the score at 1-1. The second came three weeks later, on July 3, in the Round of 32 against Australia: a clearance that went just as wrong, also making it 1-1.

What makes that second own goal even more striking is the context: minutes earlier, Hany had taken a hard blow to the head that required on-field medical attention. He stayed in the match anyway — and ended up deflecting the ball into his own net shortly after.

Several outlets reported this as tying a record, not setting a new one — citing Bulgaria's Ivan Vutsov, who supposedly had done the same thing at England 1966. But on closer inspection, that claim is wrong: Bulgaria's own goal against Portugal in 1966 was indeed Vutsov's, but the second one, against Hungary, belonged to Ivan Davidov — a different player with a similar first name. Two Bulgarians, not one. As far as can be confirmed, Hany is the only genuine case.

Despite his fullback's double stumble, Egypt didn't fare badly at all: they advanced from a group with Belgium, New Zealand, and Iran, and in the Round of 32, after the 1-1 draw with Australia (own goal included), won the penalty shootout 4-2 — the first knockout-stage win in Egyptian World Cup history. Their run would end one round later, against Argentina, but the result had, in a sense, already been written before that: twice over, and into his own net.