EGYPT PAY FOR SALAH GAMBLE
Star left on bench as Uruguay snatch winner
It WAS a gamble that so nearly paid off, though football is a game of small margins and Mohamed Salah was wincing in the dugout with the sheer agony of a goal at the end.
Egypt thought they had escaped with a point, having left their star player on the bench for the group game they were least likely to win.
‘the odds were important,’ manager Hector Cuper said of his fears that Salah would suffer a fall or a bang, exacerbating that shoulder injury and thus ending Egypt’s chances. ‘We decided not to take the risk, as we want him in top form for the matches against Russia and Saudi Arabia.
‘I think it’s quite possible, quite probable, he will play now.’
But when Ramadan Sobhi came on in the 83rd minute as Egypt’s third and final substitute, it gave Uruguay the confidence to press forward in search of a winner — even if their own talisman Luis Suarez failed to turn up.
Egypt are in a tricky position now. A point against the hosts in St Petersburg on tuesday may not be enough, given the goal difference Stanislav Cherchesov’s team built up in that extraordinary start to the tournament on thursday evening.
When the talking was done last night, Cuper would also have been reflecting that few teams will experience the good fortune of finding Suarez in such blunt form. It’s the 31-year-old’s last shot at glory in a competition which has given him little but notoriety, yet he was out of touch.
A scruffy, half-connection with the goal at his mercy; a fatal hesitation when Edinson Cavani had played him in: these were the clearest of five chances he could not take.
the only performance befitting football’s greatest stage came from his strike partner Cavani, drifting deep to begin moves, ghosting into space, supplying with missile precision and arcing a free-kick against the post just before the goal came.
the outstanding moment of the first half was a precursor of all that followed for the strapping Paris Saint-Germain striker: chest control, left-foot touch and a right-foot half-volley which was deflected over the bar.
Uruguay’s contribution included a performance of composure and technique from 20-year-old Rodrigo Bentancur that suggests he is one to watch. the Juventus midfielder made only five starts in Serie A this season, but his dynamism and control in front of the defence point to a bright future and an exciting tournament.
But the team misfired for much of the match, offering none of the more fluent, progressive Uruguay we had been told to expect.
With Egypt as defensive and unambitious as ever, Salah’s every move, displayed on the screens, became the stadium’s main event. the man in question reached for his shin-pads, the Egyptians roared, but it was not to be.
the spectacle was not enhanced by more than 6,000 empty seats. the cheaper temporary seats up above the ground were virtually full, which suggests that FIFA, in their relentless pursuit of revenues, have priced ordinary fans out of the decent seats.
FIFA claimed last night that ‘no shows’ had contributed, though that defied belief.
Ordinary Russians in three host cities have told Sportsmail this week that ticket prices are beyond them.
Neither did it help that the pitch was under-watered or insufficiently cut, causing the ball to stick and lack pace across the surface.
Gradually Cavani took matters into his own hands, though. And then, on 89 minutes, the goal came. Substitute Carlos Sanchez launched a free-kick, Jose Gimenez leapt above Ahmed Hegazi and headed home, to howls of despair from the noisy Egypt support.
It was careless defending from a team who also managed to spell Sam Morsy’s name as ‘Moursy’ on the back of his shirt. ‘It was a mistake,’ the Wigan Athletic midfielder said as he left the stadium.
Cuper admitted things could have been better if he had fielded the nation’s talisman. ‘If he had been on the pitch today the outcome could have been different,’ he said. ‘But you can’t say for sure.’