Three Hopes, One Fear: Egypt at the 2018 World Cup

As the Egyptian National Team embark on their first World Cup in 28 years, Here are three hopes for the Pharaohs before they begin the tournament on June 15th against Uruguay.

Hope 1 – Mohamed Salah is healthy and ready to play

It was a nervy time for Egyptian soccer fans following Sergio Ramos’ 29th minute tackle on Mohamed Salah in Liverpool’s UEFA Champions League Final.  As Salah slunk away from the pitch, with tears streaming down his face, It looked like Mohamed Salah’s World Cup dreams had been dashed before they even started.  Thankfully for Egypt and soccer fans around the world, Salah was diagnosed with a dislocated shoulder and is currently on schedule to be back for the Egyptian opener against Uruguay.  His presence on the the pitch is vital for Egypt because with the exception of possibly Christiano Ronaldo, there is nobody more important to their national team’s fate than Salah. His ability to draw attention from opposing defenders will be vital in order to provide opportunities for players like SC Braga’s Kouka or Abdallah Said from Finnish club, KuPS.  Salah is also the only attacking player for Egypt who can consistently create scoring opportunities for himself in very tight and crowded spaces in front of goal. Mohamed Salah suffered a very unfortunate injury at a very unfortunate time and his ability to recover from his shoulder injury both physically and mentally, will determine how well this team fares in Russia.

Hope 2 – Egypt does not let the opening match against Uruguay get too far away from them

Even if Mohamed Salah is fully fit for Egypt’s opener against Uruguay, getting a result against the South Americans will be a tough task.  Their attack, still led by Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani, is still as excellent as any nation in the tournament. The Uruguayans thrive on the counterattack and the Pharoahs will be hard pressed to be able contain the brilliance of Suarez/Cavani.  The good news for Egypt is that Uruguay tends not to be too aggressive, waiting on their opponents to make mistakes and pouncing on them. If Egypt is able to control possession and avoid taking too many risks, they should be able to control the pace of the match.  Being able to do that for 90 minutes against Uruguay will be tough but I believe they will be able to do enough of a job to keep the match from getting away from them.

Hope 3 – Essam El-Hadary gets to start

When projected starting goalkeeper, Essam El-Hadary, takes the field in Russia, he will become the oldest player to ever take the field at a World Cup.  While El-Hadary is certainly not a lock to start any of Egypt’s World Cup match, he is the only goalkeeper who has more than 30 International Caps and serves as Team Captain.  A man who has given 22 years to the Egyptian team, who has dealt with the heartbreak of near misses in 2010 and 2014 of getting to the World Cup, deserves his opportunity out on the pitch.

Fear – Hector Cuper’s defensive, conservative approach throttles Egypt’s attack

Hector Cuper will play this tournament with a very conservative tactical game plan of defending heavily and relying on Mohamed Salah to either create his own moments of brilliance or to create chances for others.  Unlike when he plays for Liverpool, Salah’s windows for scoring opportunities will be few and far between so he will need to convert when those opportunities arise. If Egypt goes down a goal or two, the will have a difficult time mustering the aggression to come from behind and even things up.

I believe Cuper’s conservative and defensive approach will be very useful in their World Cup opener against a more talented Uruguay but they will need to be more aggressive in their group matches against Russia and Saudi Arabia.  Russia and Saudi Arabia are very winnable matches for the Egyptians and Cuper’s approach may hinder them in winning these matches and securing themselves a spot in the Round of 16.

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