Day 7 round-up: First African team make the men’s final as Egypt play Portugal tomorrow and Mexico women’s go for eight in a row
Friday 29 August 2025
Tomorrow in Oslo, there will be a new name on the men’s Homeless World Cup while current women’s champions Mexico have the chance to win eight in a row.
On quarter-final day at the 20th edition of the tournament, teams from across the world took to the pitch, with progress both in the competition - and in their lives- on the agenda.
In an all time Homeless World Cup classic, men’s champions Mexico were knocked out by Egypt 4-3 with the North African keeper Mohamed Hussein Badawy having the game of his life to protect his net and send his team to the semis.
In that round of four, the Egyptians faced off against South Africa, the energetic team who’ve danced, sung and scored their way into hearts across the past week. South African captain Niyaaz Adriaanse opened the scoring from distance, fizzing a shot into the top left corner before pocket rocket Mostafa Mohamed Ismael, whose tricky feet and tireless energy have lit up the tournament, equalised.
With the final on the line, an end-to-end encounter ensued before Egypt’s number eight Taher Ayman Abdelaal rolled it between his feet to slot in at the near post.
NFL Superbowl winner Kelechi Osemele - who’d flown in to catch the action after watching The Beautiful Game on Netflix- turned to me and said ‘that was cold’.
Niyaaz Adriaanse pulled one back for the Africans, before his team took the lead again through a well-taken penalty. But Egypt weren’t to be outdone, two goals from number six, the second a scissor kick. They’ll be the first African team to play in the final of the Homeless World Cup tomorrow- and also picked up the day’s FIFPRO Award for Fair Play.
In the shadow of the Nobel Peace Centre, Portugal and Poland played out another epic in the other men’s semi-final. When the Europeans raced to a 4-0 lead, fans could be forgiven for thinking this one was over. Poland had other ideas, pulling the game back to 4-4 in the second half.
Júlio Netto has stood out everywhere he’s gone this week, his leopard print haircut and rangy playing style making Portugal’s number five one of the on-the-pitch stars in Oslo. After scoring earlier in the semi, he wasn’t going to let the Polish renaissance end his trophy hunt. He fired across the pitch to stop a certain Polish fifth, smashing the ball out of the square and into the fjord waters. With a new ball, he set up a winner to seal it for Portugal. They’ll play for the Homeless World Cup tomorrow.
While Mexico’s men won’t be in the final this year, their women’s team will be, overcoming an excellent Kenyan team 3-1 in the semi-final. There they’ll face first-time finalists Uganda, who saw off a spirited Romania 9-3. The East Africans will be looking to become the third from their continent to win the women’s Homeless World Cup, joining 2008 winners in Melbourne, Zambia, and 2011 winners in Paris, Kenya.
But it’s not all about the main trophies. One of the special things about the Homeless World Cup is that all teams play to the final day, and on Saturday in the men’s competition, Brazil play Costa Rica for the City of Oslo Cup; Bosnia & Herzegovina take on Northern Ireland for the Salvation Army Cup; the winners of the Gatefotball Cup will be decided in a final between Austria and Argentina and Sweden play Czech Republic for the Othilie Tonning Cup.
In the women’s thread, the City of Oslo Cup will go to one of Austria or Tanzania and the Salvation Army Cup final is between Sweden and Vietnam.
It’s not all about the results at the Homeless World Cup: the 500 players from around the world who’ve made Oslo their home this past week are on a trajectory towards a brighter tomorrow, just like the thousands of others who’ve gone before them.
Written By Dan Tyte, Photos By Anita Milas