EGYPT
Appearances: 2
Best finish: Group stage (1934, 1990) Manager: Hector Cuper Star player: Mohammad Salah
Despite being record seven-time African champions, Egypt have horribly underperformed in the World Cup, failing to get past the first round in just two appearances.
There was fresh hope that Mohammad Salah might help buck that trend this summer, but following his shoulder injury in last month’s Champions League final defeat to Real Madrid, the Liverpool strike risa doubt for the first two games.
The question now is can Egypt do it without him, and if he does return in time to make a difference, can he carry on his form, despite not having the same quality around him as he does at Liverpool?
His five goals in qualifying (the most in Africa) helped Egypt book their ticket to the World Cup for the first time in 28 years in October. That was confirmed with his brace against Congo at home in their penultimate group game, where he scored a 94th minute winning penalty.
Even though they topped that group comfortably with Uganda, Ghana and Congo, they still lost 1-0 away to Uganda along the way, and lost the final of last year’s Africa Cup of Nations to Cameroon.
Defensive, counter-attacking coach Hector Cuper also plays the antithesis of Jurgen Klopp’s free-flowing attacking football, and while Salah has the likes of Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino in support at Liverpool, the Egyptian team is a lot less pressing or star-studded.
With the exception of 45-year-old keeper-captain Essam Al Hadary, who will become the World Cup’s oldest ever player, it’s a young squad with decent hopes, seven of whom ply their trade in England. There’s never been that many Egyptians in England and that shows a rise in quality but it remains to be seen if they are experienced enough to support Salah against the best. If it is enough to get out the group for the first time, it will be a massive achievement that would bode well for the future, especially given that domestic football in Egypt was disrupted for two seasons from 2011 to 2013 due to revolutions, civil unrest and the Port Said Stadium riot.