Salah the savior
THE ROAD TO RUSSIA — World Cup draw week World Cup hopes of an expectant Egypt rest on shoulders of one man
In the stands, bursting with 80,000 hysterical fans, the celebrations have begun.
And then, a stunned silence. Congo equalize, and Egypt seemingly have it all to do in their difficult final qualifier in Ghana.
In the middle of the field, away from the action, Mohamed Salah, who had given Egypt the lead, collapses to the ground, his face planted in the turf. World Cup qualification, for the moment, had eluded them.
But his bout of self-pity lasts only a few seconds. He first rises to his knees. With his head in his hands he lets out a few anguished screams, then picks up the ball and throws to the center circle.
He turns to the dejected Egyptian supporters and, waving his arms, urges them to make one last effort to lift the team.
A roar goes around the stadium.
A few minutes later, Salah converts a penalty for a 2-1 win. Borg El Arab erupts; Egypt had qualified for the World Cup in the most dramatic circumstances imaginable.
Shown later on television, the Salah’s minidrama went viral, a microcosm of his, the team’s and the nation’s refusal to be beaten.
On social media, the 25-year-old is hailed as much for his outpouring of emotion and his response to a adversity as for his two goals.
Egypt had a new pharaoh.
In truth, Salah has been Egypt’s de facto leader for some time, and his role in the qualification to Russia 2018 cannot be overstated. On and off the pitch he has shone, his goals winning matches and points, his infectious attitude and smile winning hearts.
Now Egypt head to the World Cup for the first time in 28 years with a bona fide world superstar in their ranks.
It is no exaggeration to say that the Liverpool forward carries the hopes of his nation on his shoulders in the same way that once-in-a-generation national idols such as Gheorghe Hagi, Hristo Stoichkov and even Diego Maradona did in previous tournaments.
Mohamed Aboutrika may still be regarded by many as the greatest Egyptian footballer of all, and his Zidane-like skills remain unchallenged, but Salah is now idolized in a way that only modern football and all its trappings has made possible. And not without justification.
During the qualifying campaign, Salah scored goals against Congo, Ghana, Uganda, before the two match-winning strikes against Congo again. His five goals made him the top scorer in Confederation of Africa Football qualifying.
His form for Egypt had been getting increasingly proficient as his club career took off at Roma, where he scored 19 goals last season, following a disappointing time at Chelsea and a loan spell at Fiorentina.
At the Africa Cup of Nations in January, Salah scored the winning goal in the final group match against Ghana to take Egypt to the knockout stages. In the semifinal he scored Egypt’s goal in the 1-1 draw against Burkina Faso and then converted his spot-kick in the shootout triumph.
Egypt lost the final to Cameroon but it was clear Salah, now with 32 goals in 56 internationals, had become Egypt’s most valuable player. His World Cup heroics merely confirmed that.
In Russia, Salah will be joined by a battlehardened group of players, many also based in England; Mohamed Elneny (Arsenal), Ahmed Hegazi (West Brom), Ahmed Elmohamady and Ramadan Sobhi (Stoke). They are backed by the likes of captain and goalkeeper Sherif Ekramy (Al Ahly), veteran Ahmed Fathy (Al Ahli), Trezeguet (Kasimpasa) and Kahraba (Al Ittihad).
With Egypt in the third pot for Friday’s World Cup draw, there is a strong possibility Hector Cuper’s men could register the country’s first ever win at the World Cup finals.
Qualification to the round of 16 would be a monumental success.
In the meantime, Salah’s club career could not be going any better and the feel-good factor from his weekly heroics is only adding to the positivity and expectations surrounding Egypt’s World Cup journey.
In between the Africa Cup of Nations and World Cup qualification, his record-breaking move to Liverpool in the summer became arguably the most celebrated transfer of any Arab footballer ever.
At Anfield he has attained instant hero-like status, scoring 15 goals in 20 matches in all competition, already surpassing the club’s top scorers in a season since Luis Suarez scored 31 goals in 2013/14.
The Kop has taken the “King of Egypt” to their hearts, and there are already several songs dedicated to him, an honor not bestowed on too many in recent years.
Salah mania is now in
Alexandria to Anfield.
On Saturday, Salah scored his latest goal for Liverpool against Chelsea. His refusal to celebrate was initially seen by many as a sign of respect for his former club. The reason was far more poignant. The previous day, Salah’s home nation had witnessed one of its worst terrorist attacks after 305 people were mowed down while praying at the a mosque in Sinai. Salah, ever the patriot, was in his own way paying his respects to those who had perished, solidifying his newly acquired status as a leader of men in Egypt.
Should Salah lead Egypt to some success in Russia, expect the celebration to be unconfined.
DUBAI: It is the 89th minute of a World Cup qualifier and Egypt, leading Congo 1-0 at raucous Borg El Arab Stadium in Alexandria, are moments away from reaching the finals for the first time since 1990.
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