World Cup Preview: Mohamed Salah In Focus As Egypt Take On Uruguay

Egypt will be hoping for their star forward Mohamed Salah to carry his Liverpool form in the FIFA World Cup when they face Uruguay in their first match of the World Cup 2018 to be played in the Ekaterinburg Arena on June 15. Egypt coach Hector Cuper in a pre-match conference said that Salah has recovered from his shoulder injury and will almost certainly play against Uruguay in the sides' World Cup opener on Friday. "We still have to see how training goes today, but I can almost assure you 100 percent that he'll play, we are all very optimistic that he will be on the pitch," Cuper announced.

The Egyptian striker, who had suffered a shoulder injury since the UEFA Champions League final, is crucial for the side that last featured in a FIFA World Cup back in 1990. In their previous appearances in 1934 and 1990, Egypt could not manage to go beyond the group stage but this time they will be hoping for a better show. On the other hand, Uruguay, boasting of the twin attacking threat of Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani, will be looking to get off to a winning start.

Uruguay, the two-time World Cup winners, finished fourth in 2010 and reached the round of 16 in 2014. While they have had mixed qualifying campaigns, they always put up their best show on big occasions.

Salah is regarded as a contender for the Ballon d'Or for his spectacular debut season at Anfield, alongside Argentina's Lionel Messi, Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar of Brazil.

Egypt will face hosts Russia on June 19 and Saudi Arabia on June 25 in their last group game.

(With AFP Inputs)

Topics mentioned in this article

Egypt Uruguay Mohamed Salah Edinson Cavani 2018 FIFA World Cup Egypt vs Uruguay, Match 2 Football