USA broke home hearts in Tauranga’s Mercury Baypark Arena with a hard-fought victory over New Zealand as they reached the last eight of the championship for the first time since 2011.
The No.5 seeds started well through third string Spencer Lovejoy, with the World No.69 giving his side a platform with an 11-5, 11-4, 11-7 win over Temwa Chileshe.
World No.3 Coll, so often the rock of New Zealand teams and in form after winning the New Zealand Open in four days ago, restored parity for the [9/12] seeds – who were targeting a third-consecutive quarter-final appearance – through a 3-0 win against Timothy Brownell.
In the crucial third match, it was USA’s Shahjahan Khan who was able to provide the telling contribution.
The 28-year-old – who two days ago came in during the third match to clinch victory on a fifth-game tie-break against Czech Republic’s Daniel Mekbib – held his nerve in an entertaining four-game contest with Lwamba Chileshe to take his side through.
“I feel play best under pressure. Playing for the team is different and gets me more motivated,” Khan said afterwards.
USA will face Switzerland in the quarter-final after the No.4 seeds reached the last eight for the first time with a comfortable win against eight-time champions Australia.
So casual! 😌@mostafasal_ is really enjoying his squash as he builds on his lead v Van Niekerk
📺 https://t.co/4yHWM4EB1s #WSFMWT pic.twitter.com/D3aBgD4Dnu
— World Squash (WSF) (@WorldSquash) December 14, 2023
Earlier in the day, top seeds and defending champions Egypt continued their serene progress through the competition with a straightforward win over South Africa to set up a quarter-final clash with Scotland, who qualified for the last eight for the third time in succession thanks to a rescue effort from Greg Lobban and Rory Stewart against Hong Kong, China.
Elsewhere, England, France and Germany cruised past Malaysia, Nigeria and Canada, while Wales came through a fiery clash with Czech Republic.
Results: WSF Men’s World Team Championship, Round of 16
[1] EGYPT 2-0 [13/16] SOUTH AFRICAYoussef Soliman 3-0 Damian Groenewald: 11-8, 11-4, 11-4 (25m)Mostafa Asal 3-0 Dewald van Niekerk: 11-6, 11-4, 11-5 (22m)Mazen Hesham MW Jean-Pierre Brits [7] SCOTLAND 2-1 [8] HONG KONG, CHINAAlan Clyne 0-3 Chi Him Wong: 10-12, 8-11, 8-11 (43m)Greg Lobban 3-1 Tsz Kwan Lau: 11-6, 12-10, 8-11, 11-4 (48m)Rory Stewart 3-1 Henry Leung: 11-4, 11-7, 12-14, 11-9 (57m) [4] SWITZERLAND 2-0 [13/16] AUSTRALIANicolas Mueller 3-0 Joseph White 3-0: 11-7, 11-2, 11-6 (28m)Yannick Wilhelmi 3-0 Dylan Molinaro: 11-4, 11-5, 11-5 (27m)Dimitri Steinmann MW Rhys Dowling [5] USA v [9/12] NEW ZEALANDSpencer Lovejoy 3-0 Temwa Chileshe: 11-5, 11-4, 11-7 (36m)Timothy Brownell 0-3 Paul Coll: 6-11, 2-11, 5-11 (32m)Shahjahan Khan 3-1 Lwamba Chileshe: 11-4, 6-11, 11-5, 11-7 (54m) [6] WALES 2-0 [9/12] CZECH REPUBLICOwain Taylor 3-1 Daniel Mekbib: 11-4, 8-11, 12-10, 11-6 (55m)Joel Makin 3-0 Martin Svec: 11-1, 11-3, 11-4 (23m)Emyr Evans MW Viktor Byrtus [3] FRANCE 2-0 [13/16] NIGERIAGregoire Marche 3-0 Gabriel Olufunmilayo: 11-6, 11-5, 11-5 (29m)Victor Crouin 3-0 Babatunde Ajagbe: 11-0, 11-5, 11-9 (26m)Baptiste Masotti MW Adegoke Onaopemipo [9/12] GERMANY 2-0 [9/12] CANADAYannik Omlor 3-0 Liam Marrison: 11-9, 11-4, 11-7 (44m)Raphael Kandra 3-1 Salah Eltorgman: 11-3, 4-11, 11-8, 11-6 (34m)Simon Rösner MW Brett Schille [2] ENGLAND 2-0 [13/16] MALAYSIA Patrick Rooney 3-0 Ameeshenraj Chandaran: 11-1, 11-3, 11-5 (23m)Mohamed ElShorbagy 3-0 Addeen Idrakie: 11-6, 11-4, 11-8 (28m)Marwan ElShorbagy MW Sanjay JeevaDraw: WSF Men’s World Team Championship, Quarter-Final[1] EGYPT v [7] SCOTLAND[4] SWITZERLAND v [5] USA[6] WALES v [3] FRANCE[9/12] GERMANY v [2] ENGLAND