African teams in this year’s Russia 2018 opened their account in the tournament, starting with Egypt against Uruguay few hours ago.
The North Africans, who knocked out Ghana to reach the global showpiece did very well to contain the South Americans only to be undone in the closing stages of the match.
Interestingly, Mohamed Salah the key player for the Egyptians was benched although the coach has assured everyone that their talisman could be ready to start the game.
After the defeat, Hector Cuper admitted the outcome may “have been different” had Mohamed Salah been introduced into the the game.
Salah, overcoming an injury suffered in Liverpool’s Champions League final defeat three weeks ago, was among the available substitutes but did not enter the game. Egypt appeared on pace to earn a draw until Jose Gimenez’s late winner.
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Speculation over Salah’s fitness had dominated the buildup, and Cuper was left second-guessing his decision not to involve his star player.
“Mo Salah is an extremely important player for us, nobody can deny that, but you need to have a good team, and we have a good team,” Cuper said after the game.
“Perhaps if Mo had been on the pitch today the outcome would have been different, but we can’t know that. Certainly he has contributed a great amount to the team and will contribute in future matches.”
Egypt had said Salah was “nearly 100 percent likely” to face Uruguay, but Cuper said he did not want to risk his talisman suffering a setback against the physical South Americans, although he expected him to be completely fit for their next games in Group A.
“At the end of the training session we examined him and there was some doubt if he fell or was hit by another player, and we wanted to avoid a risk today,” Cuper said. “We want to have him in top form for Russia and Saudi Arabia.”
Egypt’s next game is against the host nation and if they can get a point from them, then they can hold on to the belief that qualification to the next round of the competition is achievable.
Source: www.Ghgossip.com
