THE MATCH BOX
EGYPT V URUGUAY
Venue: Ekaterinburg Arena. Capacity:
Luis Suarez gets into action, hoping to put behind his indiscretion in the last edition:
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Egypt (4-2-3-1): Essam El Hadary; Ahmed Fathi, Ahmed Hegazi, Ali Gabr, Mohamed Abdel-shafy;
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Uruguay, winners in 1930 and 1950, beat Egypt in their only previous encounter, defeating them 2-0 in Alexandria in August 2006.
Egypt are so far winless at the
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But more importantly, the scrutiny on his faith, on every minute detail like him thanking the Almighty after every goal, has led to a more positive conversation on Islam in Britain after his prolific form.
This probably explains why Salah enjoys the status of a demigod back home in Egypt, and indeed, all over the Arab world.
It has already been widely reported how his involvement in an anti-drug campaign video resulted in a manifold increase in calls to the helpline.
It was also hardly a surprise that when a few hundred Egypt fans gathered at Manezhnaya here on Wednesday evening, with many of them flying to Ekaterinburg on Thursday on the eve of their game against Uruguay, the
only name loud and clear for everyone to hear was that of Mo Salah. The chant ‘Mo Salalalah’, an Egyptian adaptation of a Merseyside song dedicated to the player, reverberated through the area as fans partied in Moscow a day ahead of the tournament.
For Salah, the build-up to the World Cup hasn’t been the best after a shoulder dislocation in the Champions League final cast question marks over his World Cup participation.
He has been back in training though and Egypt coach Hector Cuper has said that Salah is almost 100% certain to play on Friday.
After failing to qualify for the last six editions of the World Cup, Egypt’s hopes on their World Cup return firmly rest on Salah. Having enjoyed unprecedented success at the continental level, the Egyptian fans will be expecting a strong showing in Russia this summer. Towards that end, anything but a defeat against Uruguay in Friday’s opener will be crucial given that Egypt will have Russia and Saudi Arabia to play next.
The effect of Salah’s incredible season with Liverpool has been felt across different parts of the planet. In Russia, the bearded, curly-haired forward could be the Pharaoh guiding his team past the group stages. That would be some coronation!