This Egyptian Sportscaster's Reaction to His Team Making the World Cup Is Priceless

Egypt’s capital crackled with fireworks and blared with horns as the soccer-crazy country reached the World Cup for the first time in 28 years as rare scenes of joy took hold of city blocks celebrating a 2-1 victory over Congo.

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Winger Mohamed Salah scored twice, securing victory with a last-gasp penalty to put Egypt four points clear with one match left in their African group E qualifying campaign.

The Egyptian sportscaster's response to the different goals perfectly captures the national sentiment, with cries of "Allah Akbar" (God is great) after Egypt's first goal, to a heartbreaking "haram, haram, haram," (used in the sense of "what a shame") after its rival Congo scores, to pandemonium and jubilation after Salah nails his last minute penalty shot to send Egypt to the prestigious tourney.

The win clinched Egypt a long-awaited spot in Russia for the 2018 World Cup finals, where the Arab world’s most populous country will compete on football’s ultimate stage for the first time since Italy in 1990.

“It’s been 28 years and we’re finally going to enter the World Cup. Today is a day of celebration for the entire country,” said 41-year-old Gaber Fathy.

“You can look around and see how people are happy. This is something you never witness in Egypt,” said 23-year-old Gamal Mohamed in downtown Cairo’s Tahrir Square, the iconic centre of the country’s once-active protest movement, which has since been quashed by tough security measures.

Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi congratulated the Egyptian people after the match as tireless fans draped in flags turned the streets into an impromptu parade of red, white and black.