The Egyptian king, who has said a final goodbye to Liverpool, was the hero of the match as he sent Egypt to their first-ever World Cup victory – at his ninth attempt. With the win over New Zealand, the Pharaohs are suddenly on the verge of advancing to the knockout stages.
Mohamed Salah’s goal in the 67th minute gave Egypt the lead – after they had first come back from a shocking early New Zealand goal. Trezeguet then headed in from Salah’s corner to secure the historic 3-1 victory.
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For Salah, the tournament had started slowly. He was ineffective against Belgium in the opening match, and the first half against New Zealand offered little. But just when it looked like his personal World Cup nightmare was going to continue, the 34-year-old stepped forward – following in the footsteps of Messi, Mbappé, Haaland and Kane.
After a forgettable World Cup campaign in 2018 and failure in qualifying four years later, Egypt’s greatest player has finally had his moment on the biggest stage.
And he knows that one point against Iran will send the country through to the next round.
“It’s a great achievement for all the players. It is a great victory. The ambiance is great. The next game is very important,” Salah said after the game.
Breakdowns, injuries and disappointments
Salah’s club future remains uncertain after a difficult final season at Liverpool, where he clashed with then-manager Arne Slot before announcing his departure from the club this summer. He has been linked with clubs all over the world, but was determined to focus on the World Cup first.
In 2018, he struggled with injury and had to make do with the bench in the opening loss to Uruguay. His converted penalty was only a consolation in the 3-1 loss to Russia, before he missed a certain penalty in the humiliation against Saudi Arabia.
After that World Cup defeat, he was close to quitting the national team. Four years later, Egypt failed to even qualify for Qatar.
On Sunday, it looked for a long time that the misery would continue. But Salah took matters into his own hands – and sparked wild celebrations among Egyptian fans around the world.
“Salah stood up for his country”
Salah has always been a superstar at Liverpool. But in Egypt, he is at an even higher level.
With every touch of the ball comes cheers from the country’s fans – and enormous pressure on the shoulders. Sunday’s goal was his 68th for the country in 118 games. He is only one goal away from manager Hossam Hassan’s record for the most goals of all time – and many would say that this was his most important so far.
No player has been involved in more shots in a World Cup match than Salah was against New Zealand – five shots himself, and five chances created for others.
Former Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou told ITV:
“If there was any doubt about Mo Salah’s importance to this team, you can still see it. It will give them tremendous faith. They had to deal with adversity, and their greatest player stood up. That gives me a lot of confidence. You need the big players to perform to progress.
Former Jamaica winger Jobi McAnuff added:
“Just when he was needed, Mo Salah stood up for his country.
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From Minister of Health to the history books
Salah has played for Egypt for 14 years. His importance is so great that even the government has gotten involved when he has been injured.
“I even got calls from Egypt’s health minister,” national team doctor Dr. Mohamed Aboud recalled when Salah suffered a serious shoulder injury in the 2018 Champions League final.
Despite winning the Premier League twice with Liverpool, Salah has never lifted a trophy for Egypt. The generation before him won three Africa Cup of Nations in a row – since then there have been two final losses.
But this World Cup victory at least dispells one of the ghosts.
Now Iran is waiting. And Mo Salah is ready to make even more history.
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