Salah only a shell of Liverpool star; Neymar injured
SAINT PETERSBURG (AFP) – Three weeks and three days after Sergio Ramos twisted and slammed Egypt's best World Cup hope into the grass, Mohamed Salah returned.
He won a penalty, and scored it, ripping the ball with his left foot into the top corner.
But by then, Russia were already three up and this game was as good as gone.
''If he was not injured, it is very difficult to know what would have happened,'' Egypt coach Hector Cuper said. ''But we know the quality he has.''
On show here was not the Salah that had tormented Roma and Manchester City, or scored 32 goals in the Premier League and 10 to power Liverpool to the Champions League final.
This was Salah making the best of things, hoping to deliver a single, match-winning moment even if he knew a complete performance was never on the cards.
The way he shuffled off at the end, as Russia's substitutes rushed on to celebrate a 3-1 victory in Group A, suggested even he knew it was a long shot.
In other matches, Japan coach Akira Nishino joked about organizing a parade through Saransk to celebrate a slice of World Cup history on Tuesday after his side shocked 10-man Colombia.
The Japanese were widely written off as Group H contenders when Nishino was brought in as head coach in April, leaving him precious little time to prepare for the Russian showpiece.
However, he was in high spirits after his side won 2-1 in their opening match to became the first Asian side to beat a South American team at a World Cup.
Senegal, on the other hand, recorded the first African win at the 2018 World Cup when they beat Poland 2-1 on Tuesday thanks to a deflected Thiago Cionek own goal and a terrible error by Polish keeper Wojciech Szczesny.
Meanwhile, Neymar hobbled out of a training session on Tuesday, setting alarm bells ringing in the Brazil camp as they prepare for their second World Cup group game against Costa Rica on Friday.
The 26-year-old could be seen grimacing as he held his right ankle after feeling pain as he took part in a light session for those who had started that game.