Zico fan, Egypt player matches Flamengo icon's World Cup feat

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Coluna do Fla

·22 Juni 2026

Zico fan, Egypt player matches Flamengo icon's World Cup feat

What happened to Egypt player Mostafa Zico at the World Cup?

Mostafa Ziko scored one of the goals in Egypt’s 3-1 win over New Zealand in the second round of Group G at the World Cup. With that strike, the Egyptian player matched an achievement by Zico, Flamengo’s greatest idol, in the tournament.

The coincidence between Egypt’s Ziko and Zico comes from the goals both scored against New Zealand in World Cups. In 1982, the eternal No. 10 from Gávea found the net against the same opponent while playing for the Brazilian National Team. Then in 2026, 44 years later, it was the Egyptian’s turn.

IS MOSTAFA ZIKO NAMED AS A TRIBUTE TO ZICO, FLAMENGO’S IDOL?

Video OneFootball

It is important to point out that, in recent interviews, Mostafa Ziko has already made it clear that he carries the name because of his family’s admiration for Flamengo’s idol. The Egyptian player never saw Zico play, but learned about the ‘Rooster from Quintino’ through technology.

“Zico is my role model as a player. I watched videos of him; he is my favorite player. My father used to talk a lot about him, and I watched the videos on YouTube,” said Egypt player Mostafa Ziko.

HAS MOSTAFA ZIKO EVER PLAYED AGAINST FLAMENGO?

If Mostafa Ziko never saw the greatest idol in Flamengo’s history play, the forward has already faced Rubro-Negro as a professional. That meeting happened at the end of last season, when Mengão played in the Club World Cup in Qatar.

On that occasion, Flamengo faced Pyramids (EGY) on December 13 and won 2-0. In the match, Mengão sealed the result with goals from Léo Pereira and Danilo. As a result, Rubro-Negro eliminated the Egyptian team from the tournament.

WHAT IS EGYPT’S SITUATION AT THE WORLD CUP?

In short, with Mostafa Ziko in the squad, Egypt is still chasing history at the World Cup. So far, the Egyptians lead Group G with four points. Overall, the country has one draw with Belgium and a win over New Zealand.

To secure a place in the next stage of the World Cup, Egypt will face Iran next Saturday (27) at 12:00 a.m. (Brasília time) at Seattle Field in the United States. As usual, Coluna do Fla will continue to keep an eye on everything happening in the tournament.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.