Salah, Egypt come close to making World Cup history

SEATTLE — His name is Mohamed Salah Hamed Mahrous Ghaly. But most soccer fans know him simply as “Mo.”

Monday, a crowd of 66,775 packed Lumen Field to watch Salah, the star of Egypt’s national side, do battle against Belgium. The man who had performed magically for the majority of his time in Liverpool in England’s Premier League only to fall out of favor with the manager and team hierarchy, has soccer’s biggest stage as his chance for redemption and reclaim his status as one of the world’s best players.

Of course, the Belgians knew what was coming and to their credit, they did a good job of keeping Salah under wraps in what ended in a 1-1 draw.

“We played against Mo Salah before and their whole team,” said Belgium midfielder Youri Tielmans. “That was the plan. We tried to limit his touches and not let them use their transition game. In some moments, they came through with it and had some chances. But we know we can do better.”

Egypt, which has never won a World Cup match, going back to 1934, was looking to make history Monday in what is their fourth appearance in the event. And for a while it appeared that was going to be the case. For while Salah was being closely watched, the same couldn’t be said of Emam Ashour, his teammate on the left flank.

Left unmarked at the top of the box, Ashour rifled a shot past Thibaut Courtois, beating him from distance for a 1-0 lead. It was a shot that Courtois, who plays for Real Madrid, probably should’ve stopped.

Eventually, his teammates got him off the hook. Romelu Lukaku, who came on as a substitute in the 66th minute, got between two Egyptian defenders and when the service came into the box, there was mass congestion and confusion among the Egyptians. The ball went off defender Mohamed Hany and in, evening things at 1-1.

Both teams had chances late to lead but neither could finish and each side settled for a single point in Group G.

“I think our biggest challenge was about us,” Tielmans said. “We lost too many balls and when we had the ball, we didn’t find the solutions. We were too static, especially in the first half.

“In the second half, we created more chances which we could have won the game. But they had some chances as well. So 1-all was a fair point.”

Still, to hold Salah, one of the world’s best offensive players to a single shot is something the Red Devils should be happy about. What they should be disappointed in were the numerous chances they squandered throughout the match and needed an own goal to get the draw.

Kevin De Bruyne had at least three chances to register a goal. One missed just wide of the right post run the 7th minute, Another chance in the 28th minute off a turnover by Ashour was saved by goalkeeper Mostafa Shoubir. Then in the 52nd minute off a free kick, De Bruyne bent it around the wall only to hit the left post. When you have that kind of luck, it’s hard to expect to win.

For the Egyptians, their pursuit of the nation’s first World Cup victory continues. They’ll get another chance to try and make history on Sunday when they face New Zealand in Vancouver.

Belgium will face Iran Sunday at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles. Both matches will be key in trying to move out of the group stage.

But for those who watched Monday’s draw, they left entertained and with the knowledge that Egypt is a side that doesn’t have to rely on one player, talented as he may be, in order to achieve success in this World Cup.