Saudi Arabia vs Egypt. FIFA World Cup Group A.
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Monday 25 June 2018 14:27, UK
Egypt boss Hector Cuper reflected on what might have been had Mohamed Salah been fully fit in Russia ahead of his country's final game against Saudi Arabia.
Egypt and Saudi Arabia, who face each other in a dead rubber on Monday, were the first to be eliminated from the World Cup after collecting zero points from their opening two games against Uruguay and hosts Russia.
Liverpool forward Salah, whose goal in qualifying sent Egypt to their first World Cup since 1990, missed the 1-0 loss to Uruguay as he had not recovered from the shoulder injury he sustained in the Champions League final last month.
And though he played in the 3-1 defeat to Russia, it was still clearly hindering him as the host nation inflicted another defeat on Egypt.
"There's no doubt Mo Salah has a huge importance on this team," Cuper told a pre-match press conference.
"He's always been a very important player for us, just as he has been a very important player for the past year in the Premier League.
"Had he been fully up to speed in the first match it would have been very important for us, yes.
"But I've always said I don't want to focus too much on a single player. We're talking about a whole team here; all players are important.
"Of course, he is a natural-born scorer and he can make the difference in the final third. I don't know what would have been. That's like looking into a crystal ball.
"If he hadn't been hurt that could certainly have been an advantage for us but he was hurt."
Argentine Cuper refused to say whether this would be his final match in charge of Egypt but did stress he was "at least satisfied" with his team's efforts in Russia.
The African nation have never won a game at a World Cup so Monday's fixture, therefore, represents an opportunity to make history.
"This is an important match because we want to win and finish with a good result," Cuper added.
"We have prepared for it well and we want to represent the Egyptian people and make them happy with a victory."
Salah is the man Saudi Arabia are most mindful of ahead of the fixture, though manager Juan Antonio Pizzi will not task any of his players to man-mark Egypt's chief threat.
"He has huge qualities," Pizzi admitted in his press conference. "It's not a coincidence that he has had this wonderful career, especially the last year in the Premier League.
"Of course we will take precautionary measures, not specifically just to him but in general terms."
Mansoor Al-Harbi, Ali Al-Bulaihi and Omar Hawsawi could all miss the game for Saudi Arabia.
Egypt manager Cuper could be tempted to name 45-year-old backup goalkeeper Essam El-Hadary in his starting line-up, making him the oldest player ever to play at a World Cup finals.
There's nothing but pride to play for in this one. There's been a fair bit of embarrassment for Saudi Arabia at this tournament but they restored a bit of pride with their performance against Uruguay. There's nothing for these two sides to gain by being defensive so let's see what they've got going forward. Hopefully we can see Mohamed Salah play to his full potential after his injury. I'm expecting the Liverpool forward to be the star of the show and score both goals.
CHARLIE PREDICTS: 0-2 (15/2 with Sky Bet)
Egypt are 17/20 favourites with Sky Bet, who give Saudi Arabia a 10/3 chance to pick up their first three points of the tournament, while the draw is at 5/2. Mohamed Salah is favourite to open the scoring at 3/1 and enhanced from 7/2 to 11/2 to score a brace in Sky Bet's Price Boosts. Mohammed Al-Sahlawi is considered the Saudi's main threat at 13/2 to break the deadlock.
