On Friday, Mohamed Salah and Egypt qualified for the knockout rounds of the World Cup. It’s the latest first in a tournament that saw The Pharaohs record their first ever World Cup victory with their earlier 3-1 win over New Zealand, though by comparison Friday night’s eventual 1-1 draw with Iran was a mild disappointment.
Still, with a win and two draws—Egypt also drew their opener 1-1 with Belgium—it means second place and a spot in the Round of 32, where on paper at least Egypt were given what
looks a winnable tie against Australia. Salah and Egypt, though, will be slightly concerned about his fitness heading into it after the forward picked up a minor hamstring strain.
“Salah asked to be replaced but we don’t know the diagnosis,” Egypt manager Hossam Hassan said of Salah’s 57th minute exit from the match. “He felt something so he will undergo scans and we hope for the best. I talked to him and he said it’s going to be okay, it’s not a big injury, but we have to leave it with the medical staff.”
Salah has been deployed in a more free central role by Hassan at the World Cup than the right wing position he has spent most of his career in, often playing as part of a front two as more of a centre forward but free to drift to the right wing or into a playmaking ten role as it suits him.
So far at least, the results of that have been positive for Egypt, and Salah has been key in the majority of their goals and attacking moves. After coming off on Friday, Salah was seen icing his hamstring on the bench. Where Salah will play his football next season remains a mystery after the 34-year-old agreed to terminate the final year of his Liverpool deal.
