While the news media focuses on Mohamed Salah’s fitness, Hector Cuper’s Uruguay prepares confidently in the background, waiting to prove that it’s the better team regardless of whether the Egyptian star appears on the pitch or not.
The re-modelled Yekaterinburg Arena will welcome 35.000 fans in one of the most intriguing encounters during the first round of World Cup matches. Uruguay and Egypt have met once before. It was a friendly back in 2006 that the South Americans won 2-0. The Egyptians have not won a single one of their five preparation friendlies, most recently losing 3-0 to Belgium. Tabarez’s lads have done better, winning their last three without conceding.
The Land of the Nile has been closely monitoring the fitness updates of its talismanic striker Mo Salah. He was the one who scored the 95th penalty against Congo in the qualifiers to lead The Pharaohs to their first World Cup appearance since 1990. His presence in the starting lineup will be of utmost importance for the confidence of this team. Although, head coach Hector Cuper seems to be ready to cope with Salah’s potential absence:
“We’re not Mohamed Salah’s national team, this team has many players who cooperate with each other to reach the best results,”
“Egypt is lucky that this generation has one of the best players in the world but our tactics don’t solely revolve around him.”
Salah participated in Egypt’s training session on Wednesday. He did some light work, but it was encouraging news nonetheless, considering it was his training with the team since suffering the shoulder injury in the Champions League final.
Whether or not Salah is on the field, Uruguay will not have it easy with this Egypt team. It’s built on years of experience, comradery and players who are willing to sacrifice and always fight to the finish. Goalkeeper Essam El-Hadary is 45-years-old and will become the oldest player in World Cup history when he steps on that Yekaterinburg pitch at 14:00 o’clock on Friday afternoon. Other than him, the North African nation can count on WBA’s Ahmed Hegazi, Arsenal’s Mohamed Elneny, Zamalak’s Tarek Hamed and Kasimpasa’s Mahmoud Hassan to provide stability and for Stoke’s Ramadan Sobhi to add some attacking punch.
Uruguay is led by two strikers who scored 71 goals in 99 matches across all competitions this past season – PSG’s Edinson Cavani and Barcelona’s Luis Suarez. Their team is Group A’s favourite and for a reason. Oscar Tabarez boasts one of the most talented, cohesive units in the World Cup. In case Cavani and Suarez are having bad days, they are backed up by LaLiga’s fifth and seventh best strikers in Girona’s Cristhian Stuani and Celta’s Maxi Gomez. The defensive concrete wall is led by Atletico Madrid’s Diego Godin and Jose Maria Gimenez, while the midfield is a synergy of past and present, where Inter’s Matias Vecino and Penarol’s Cristian Rodriguez are perfectly complemented by Cruzeiro’s De Arrascaeta, Juventus’ Bentancur and Sampdoria’s Torreira. As long as Luis Suarez keeps his hands and then in check, this is Uruguay’s game to lose.
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