It was one man against an empire, and in the end it was no contest. Six days into the World Cup, and Russia are through to the next round of their own tournament - not mathematically, but near enough - after an irresistible second-half romp that announced the unfancied hosts as a genuine threat. By the same token, Hector Cuper’s flawed and mercurial Egypt are all but out, taking the hopes and affections of millions with them.
For the brilliant Mohamed Salah, the crushing disappointment of fighting his way back to full fitness from a shoulder injury, only for his first World Cup to amount essentially to 90 competitive minutes. It wasn’t his best night, in truth: a little rusty, starved of possession and ultimately let down by the farcical shenanigans his team-mates were overseeing at the other end of the pitch. The consolation penalty he scored 20 minutes from time will be one of his few pleasant memories of what has been a turbulent and traumatic last few weeks.
Russia vs Egypt: Player ratings 24 show all Russia vs Egypt: Player ratings 1/24 Russia vs Egypt: Player ratings Russia Valery Sharifulin/TASS 2/24 Igor Akinfeev - 5 Not much to do as most shots went wide Getty Images 3/24 Mario Fernandes - 6 Defended okay, great going forward Getty Images 4/24 Ilya Kutepov - 5 Worked hard in defence to keep the strikers at bay Valery Sharifulin/TASS 5/24 Sergey Ignashevich - 6 Closed down well and kept Salah quiet Getty Images 6/24 Yury Zhirkov - 6 Attacked well down the left wing and stayed strong in defence Getty Images 7/24 Yuri Gazinskiy - 6 Looked good going forward but no real threat AFP/Getty Images 8/24 Roman Zobnin - 7 Was good in mid-field and kept attacking throughout AFP/Getty Images 9/24 Alexander Samedov - 7 Exploited the weaknesses in Egypt’s defence firing crosses in for fun Getty Images 10/24 Aleksandr Golovin - 6 Played okay but could have done with hitting a few more shots Getty Images 11/24 Denis Cheryshev - 8 Probed the left wing well and found the gaps in the box to score Valery Sharifulin/TASS 12/24 Artem Dzyuba - 7 Was targeted by the defence but found the target anyway AFP/Getty Images 13/24 Russia vs Egypt: Player ratings Egypt Alexander Demianchuk/TASS 14/24 Mohamed Elshenawy - 6 Solid in goal, came out and met a few of Russia’s crosses FIFA via Getty Images 15/24 Ahmed Fathy - 5 Struggled at the back, especially with Salah not tracking back Peter Kovalev/TASS 16/24 Ali Gabr - 6 Marked the big man well, had his plans and stuck to them Getty Images 17/24 Ahmed Hegazi - 6 Worked well with Gabr to keep Dzyuba at bay AFP/Getty Images 18/24 Mohamed Abdel-Shafy - 5 Not a lot to do going forward but was okay at the back Getty Images 19/24 Mohamed Elneny - 5 Looked decent going forward but needed to inject more pace into the attacks AFP/Getty Images 20/24 Tarek Hamed - 5 had a quiet night, slow in midfield but passed well Getty Images 21/24 Mohamed Salah - 6 Still recovering from injury but created a few chances and scored the penalty AFP/Getty Images 22/24 Abdallah Said - 5 Had a quiet night AFP/Getty Images 23/24 Trezeguet - 6 Worked hard but lacked a finishing touch AFP/Getty Images 24/24 Marwan Mohsen - 6 Played well but didn’t make full use of his chances Alexander Demianchuk/TASS 1/24 Russia vs Egypt: Player ratings Russia Valery Sharifulin/TASS 2/24 Igor Akinfeev - 5 Not much to do as most shots went wide Getty Images 3/24 Mario Fernandes - 6 Defended okay, great going forward Getty Images 4/24 Ilya Kutepov - 5 Worked hard in defence to keep the strikers at bay Valery Sharifulin/TASS 5/24 Sergey Ignashevich - 6 Closed down well and kept Salah quiet Getty Images 6/24 Yury Zhirkov - 6 Attacked well down the left wing and stayed strong in defence Getty Images 7/24 Yuri Gazinskiy - 6 Looked good going forward but no real threat AFP/Getty Images 8/24 Roman Zobnin - 7 Was good in mid-field and kept attacking throughout AFP/Getty Images 9/24 Alexander Samedov - 7 Exploited the weaknesses in Egypt’s defence firing crosses in for fun Getty Images 10/24 Aleksandr Golovin - 6 Played okay but could have done with hitting a few more shots Getty Images 11/24 Denis Cheryshev - 8 Probed the left wing well and found the gaps in the box to score Valery Sharifulin/TASS 12/24 Artem Dzyuba - 7 Was targeted by the defence but found the target anyway AFP/Getty Images 13/24 Russia vs Egypt: Player ratings Egypt Alexander Demianchuk/TASS 14/24 Mohamed Elshenawy - 6 Solid in goal, came out and met a few of Russia’s crosses FIFA via Getty Images 15/24 Ahmed Fathy - 5 Struggled at the back, especially with Salah not tracking back Peter Kovalev/TASS 16/24 Ali Gabr - 6 Marked the big man well, had his plans and stuck to them Getty Images 17/24 Ahmed Hegazi - 6 Worked well with Gabr to keep Dzyuba at bay AFP/Getty Images 18/24 Mohamed Abdel-Shafy - 5 Not a lot to do going forward but was okay at the back Getty Images 19/24 Mohamed Elneny - 5 Looked decent going forward but needed to inject more pace into the attacks AFP/Getty Images 20/24 Tarek Hamed - 5 had a quiet night, slow in midfield but passed well Getty Images 21/24 Mohamed Salah - 6 Still recovering from injury but created a few chances and scored the penalty AFP/Getty Images 22/24 Abdallah Said - 5 Had a quiet night AFP/Getty Images 23/24 Trezeguet - 6 Worked hard but lacked a finishing touch AFP/Getty Images 24/24 Marwan Mohsen - 6 Played well but didn’t make full use of his chances Alexander Demianchuk/TASS
It was hard not to feel for Salah, but hard too not to be moved by Russia’s verve and spirit, the way their lightning transitions and lusty tackles brought a capacity St Petersburg crowd - and very probably an entire nation - to a cacophonous crescendo. Six points and eight goals is a start they could scarcely have dreamed of, and though tougher games lie ahead, they will fear no-one now. The final whistle was greeted with an unfettered shriek of triumph, as Russia’s victorious players saluted a public that has so often been wryly sceptical of them. Egypt’s anguish, meanwhile, was silent.
They had moved mountains to get here, but when it mattered they was not quite enough there: the defence too porous, their spells of possession too sketchy, their emotional pitch - in what was their first World Cup in almost three decades - just a little too fraught. It was a game that might have suited them: a breath-sapping, full-throttle head rush of a contest, full of nervy ricochets, barrelling dribbles, borderline challenges and those thrilling, pregnant seconds when the ball looped in the air towards Salah, and a stadium held its breath, and the sunlit June night shimmered with possibility.
But that, in a way, was part of the problem. Knocking long balls up to your 5ft 9in wing magician is not exactly the smartest of strategies, and Salah ended the game with the fewest touches of any outfield player on the pitch who had played all 90 minutes. At least he got his goal in the end, but for most of the night the game felt like an imbalance between Egypt’s one-pronged threat and Russia’s pace on the break and greater variety of attacking options.
They might even have wrapped the game up in the first 15 or 20 minutes, as an exceptionally nervy Egypt struggled to keep the ball, even in their own half. Sergei Ignashevich, Aleksandr Golovin and Denis Cheryshev all had good chances in that period, and in fact Russia were getting a good deal of joy down their left, Egypt’s right, in the spaces behind Salah, where Mohamed Elneny and Ahmed Fathi were frequently outnumbered.
But Egypt weathered that assault, made it to the break on level terms, and so it was all the more galling that within two minutes of the restart, they had conceded a freakish and yet largely avoidable goal. Golovin’s cross was punched away by Mohamed El-Shenawy; Roman Zobnin followed it in with a bobbling shot from distance, and as Fathi tried to scrape it away, he sliced the ball past the goalkeeper and into his own net. Sixty yards away, a sighing Salah ran his fingers through his hair. He knew, as everyone did, that it was a long and lonely road back.
A draw was of little use to Egypt, unless Saudi Arabia could do them a favour by beating Uruguay. And so there was a certain abandon to the way they approached the rest of the game, hoisting the ball forward only for Russia to return it with interest. Cheryshev notched his third goal of the tournament after a superb spin and cut-back from Alexander Samedov; two minutes later, Ahmed Hegazi and Ali Gabr both went for an elementary route-one long ball, both found fresh air, and striker Artem Dzyuba smashed the loose ball in from six yards.
With 20 minutes to go, Salah was dragged down on the edge of the area, a free-kick upgraded to a penalty by the video referees in their strange windowless room. Salah shoved the penalty high into the net, the first goal Russia had conceded all tournament, but it was a bagatelle, a frippery, a single graffito on the wall of the Hermitage. The night was Russia’s. The group is Russia’s for the taking. What else might they accomplish within the next few weeks? Tantalisingly, nobody quite knows.
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Cheryshev one-timed a perfect pass from the end line by Mário Fernandes, who was born in Brazil but became a Russian citizen in 2016. Striker Artem Dzyuba then put Russia ahead by 3-0 when he captured a 40-yard pass at the top of the penalty area and slammed a shot into the net.
Salah did finally muster a response, drawing a penalty in the 72nd minute and burying the kick from the spot. But on a day when he was not fully fit, that was hardly enough to turn the match around.
“The game was 94 minutes, and we had 10 to 15 very bad minutes, and that was the reason we lost,” said Egypt’s Argentine manager, Héctor Cúper.
Cúper, Salah and Egypt are now left with dreams of what might have been. With two losses in two games here, they have virtually no chance of advancing to the knockout round. All that remains, most likely, is a final group-stage match against Saudi Arabia on Monday.
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And so Salah’s World Cup will almost certainly end in disappointment. For months, ever since he began dumping in goals for Liverpool the way Stephen Curry drains 3-pointers, there had been near-limitless hope, in Egypt and its diaspora, that he would be a source of magic in this tournament.
Salah led Egypt through World Cup qualification with five goals and became a unifying force in a deeply divided country. But then the World Cup banana peel appeared courtesy of Sergio Ramos of Real Madrid, whose rough tackle of Salah during the first half of the Champions League final on May 26 wrecked Salah’s shoulder.
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The injury relegated Salah to the bench for Egypt’s World Cup opener against Uruguay, needing four more days of convalescence before being healthy enough to play — enough being the key word there. But on Tuesday, Salah had essentially had no choice but to play, diminished though he might have been.
In the end, Salah, with a damaged shoulder and a weak group of teammates around him, could not do enough. On Tuesday it was Cherchesov, the Russian manager, who walked off the field waving his arms in jubilation to chants of “ROO-SEE-YAA!” Russia’s final group match is against Uruguay, and it almost certainly will advance safely even without a victory or tie.
In contrast, Salah’s World Cup is almost certain to end in six days. Like plenty of other stars before him, Salah confronted the harsh reality on Tuesday of how difficult it is to excel without the usual strong support at the club level, with players like Roberto Firmino, his Brazilian teammate at Liverpool.
In World Cup qualifying, however, Egypt largely succeeded because of its improved defense, conceding just six goals in eight games.
And for the first 45 minutes on Tuesday, the Egyptian back line held strong, intercepting and deflecting balls and neutralizing a series of Russian attacks. El-Shenawy, the goalkeeper, commanded the area around his net, coming out to punch away cross after cross.
At the same time, Egypt struggled to find a consistent link to Salah in the middle of the field, where the game often looked more like pinball than soccer.
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His only real chance of the first half came after 42 minutes, when he got the ball 18 yards out from the Russian goal, spun free from Russia’s Yuri Zhirkov and curled a shot well wide of the left post.
He got another look from 10 yards out in the 57th minute but couldn’t shake free of his defender and corral a twisting ball well enough to get off a clean strike on goal. He did finally draw the penalty shot, but it was too little, too late.
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“What would have happened if he had been in top form in both matches?” Cúper asked after Egypt’s loss on Tuesday. “That is very hard to say.”
He paused, gathered his thoughts, then added: “I always say, behind a brilliant player, or two brilliant players, there has to be a team.”
Here’s how the game unfolded:
95’: It’s All Over!
Russia’s defense stands firm, and they hold on for a 3-1 victory.
90’: Time Running Out
The referee indicates four minutes of stoppage time.
86’: Late Changes for Both Sides
Egypt brought Ramadan Sobhi on for Trezeguet a few minutes ago, and now Russia swaps Fedor Kudryashov for Yury Zhirkov.
84’: Careful Counters
With Egypt throwing everybody forward, Russia has had a couple of counter attack opportunities. But they’re cautiously only sending one or two players, and the attacks mostly fizzle out.
83’: Desperation for Egypt
About 10 minutes left for Egypt, who need to score at least two, and probably three, goals to keep its hopes of advancing alive.
79’: Both Scorers off for Russia
The other Russian goalscorer, Artem Dzyuba, comes off for Fedor Smolov.
74’: Defensive Move for Russia
One of the Russian goal scorers, Denis Cheryshev, comes off for Daler Kuzyayev, a more defensive midfielder.
72’: GOAL EGYPT!
Mohamed Salah is dragged down in the box by Roman Zobnin while going for the ball. He might’ve been outside the box when first tugged, however. But after a video review, the referee awards a penalty kick.
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Salah takes it, dancing towards the ball before emphatically thumping it into the top right corner.
67’: Wasted Chance
Egypt’s best chance of the match, as Trezeguet receives a square pass and is open at the top of the box. He tries passing the ball into the bottom of the net, but his shot goes just wide. As if punishment for his shot, Trezeguet makes way for Ramadan Sobhi a minute later.
64’: Change for Egypt
Amr Warda comes on for Mohamed Elneny, but it’s probably too little too late for the Pharoahs, after a brutal 16 minutes saw Russia score three goals.
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62’: RUSSIA AGAIN!
Big Artem Dzyuba (he’s 6’5”) takes down a lob from half field, dribbles past an Egyptian defender and slots the ball past Mohamed El-Shenawy to give Russia a 3-0 lead.
It was really a goal that came out of nowhere. But when you send the ball into the mixer and have the tallest player on the field, sometimes good things happen.
Matthew Futterman: Russia is on its way to the round of 16, where Portugal or Spain will likely await. That will be one whale of a match, especially if Cristiano Ronaldo gets to take on the home team.
59’: A SECOND FOR RUSSIA!
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Denis Cheryshev gets his third goal of the tournament. Mário Fernandes took a pass on the corner of the six-yard box and drove to the end line, before cutting the ball back to an open Cheryshev, who wasn’t going to miss from that close. Cheryshev’s third goal draws him even with Cristiano Ronaldo for the tournament lead.
57’: Egyptian Chances, Finally
Better from Egypt, who get several dangerous crosses into the box. Mo Salah’s shot from close is blocked out, and Russia is able to pounce first and clear a loose ball on the subsequent corner.
52’: Not So Dangerous
Egypt’s response to going down a goal has been to surge forward, but the quality of their passing is lacking.
48’: Own Goal’s Stock Rising
So far, Own Goal is the striker of the tournament.
47’: GOAL Russia!
It’s an own goal in Russia’s favor! Battling with big Russian forward Artem Dzyuba in the box, Egyptian right back Ahmed Fathi half swings at the ball, and it bounces off his leg and past his own keeper.
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Halftime: Good Bit of Action, No Goals
The two sides go into halftime goalless, though not for a lack of trying. Russia might be content with a draw and a point, but Egypt will most likely push for a goal and the victory in the second half.
42’: Salah Gets a Look
Marwan Mohsen dummies a pass that finds Mo Salah at the top of the box. He mis-controls the ball but is still able to take a shot mostly facing away from the goal. It goes wide.
Matthew Futterman: There is nothing like the moment when the star gets the ball in a dangerous spot with a single defender to beat. You could feel 65,000 people holding their breath on that Salah chance at the 18. His shot wasn’t all that close, but it was a moment.
40’: Just Pump in the Crosses
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Both teams are looking to find their big strikers in the box with crosses. Marwan Mohsen of Egypt and Artem Dzyuba of Russia have each gotten their heads on a couple of balls, but haven’t had a clean look at a header.
Matthew Futterman: It’s deafening in here. I can’t imagine what it must be like for the referee, Enrique Caceres of Paraguay, to officiate a Russia game in Putin’s Russia. Russia has gotten a few non-calls so far. It’s something to keep an eye on. Referees are all too human.
34’: Salah Threatens
A flick-on header almost finds Mo Salah at the back post, but Russia is able to clear before he gets a foot on the ball. The subsequent corner is wasted.
33’: Calm Before the Storm?
Things have calmed a bit, with the teams trading possession in midfield. Let’s hope it presages a storm of goals.
25’: Salah Quiet So Far
Not too much involvement from Mo Salah yet, though Egyptian players have ballooned a number of speculative balls to his side of the field. For Liverpool, Salah tracks back and is a tenacious defender, but for the Pharaohs he seems to be saving his energy to attack.
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22’: High-Quality Start
This has been a pretty fun game so far. The teams are evenly matched, possession is split, and neither are afraid to commit numbers forward in the attack.
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Matthew Futterman: For all of the attention that Mo Salah gets, Egypt is here because they stopped giving up goals by the bundle. They are a pretty defensive team that needs that back line to stay organized. So far so good. After Russia’s early flourish, most of the chances have been from long range.
19’: Russia Fires Back
Denis Cheryshev, who scored two goals against Saudi Arabia, claims a loose ball at the top of the box and fires a shot at Egypt’s goal, but it goes over.
16’: Egypt Has a Go
Egypt’s Trezeguet pops free at the edge of the Russian box and curls a shot toward goal. It looked to beat Russian keeper Igor Akinfeev but was just wide of the post.
11’: One-Way Traffic
Russia is piling the pressure on the Egyptian goal, but haven’t yet had better than a half-chance.
06’: Two More for Russia
Sergey Ignashevich gets a header on goal, but he’s traveling backward and it has no power. Egypt subsequently gave the ball away in the middle of the field, but Aleksandr Golovin’s shot from the top of the area goes wide.
04’: Early Chance for Russia
Egypt controlling more of the ball early, but the best chance went to Russia, who intercepted a wayward crossfield pass and almost slipped Dzyuba in on goal.
01’: And We’re Off!
Russia is in red, Egypt in white.
All Eyes on El-Shenawy
To hold the Russians to fewer than the five goals they scored against Saudi Arabia, Egypt will be relying on goalkeeper Mohamed El-Shenawy, who plays for Al Ahly, Egypt’s best domestic club. El-Shenawy was named man of the match against Uruguay, as he coped well with constant pressure and parried away three shots.
Russia’s Starting Lineup
1. Igor Akinfeev
4. Sergey Ignashevich
3. Ilya Kutepov
18. Yury Zhirkov
2. Mario Fernandes
17. Aleksandr Golovin
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11. Roman Zobnin
8. Iury Gazinsky
22. Artem Dzyuba
6. Denis Cheryshev
19. Aleksandr Samedov
Egypt’s Starting Lineup
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23. Mohamed El-Shenawy
6. Ahmed Hegazi
2. Ali Gabr
13. Mohamed Abdel-Shafy
7. Ahmed Fathi
19. Abdalla Said
8. Tarek Hamed
17. Mohamed Elneny
9. Marwan Mohsen
21. Trezeguet
10. Mohamed Salah
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The emotional spectrum of football was exposed in all its shuddering extremes an hour into this piece of sporting theatre. Russia’s hulking forward Artem Dzyuba spun off into the night, tapping his head, veins pumping, screaming, in recognition of one of the most momentous goals of his career. A masterful finish had put Russia 3-0 up and the emphatic nature of the scoreline all but confirmed qualification and sent Egypt home.
As Dzubaya relished his moment Mohamed Salah stood, numbed, in the centre circle, this weird adventure crushed, hands on hips, staring into the middle distance. After all the dedicated hours of rehabilitation and all the hopes, a million roubles for his thoughts.
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Egypt’s icon hauled himself out of his melancholic trance and offered a half-hearted clap to try to rally his teammates but in reality he knew. Everybody knew. This was Russia’s party. Even with Salah back in the team, Egypt were unable to stage the ultimate gatecrash.
Salah had been late to this fiesta and working his way into a match of this tempo was challenging. He had a moment where he was able to make his mark of sorts with a consolation goal from the penalty spot, plus a series of nearly chances either side of that, but he could do no more. Russia’s elation was merited. For all those who scoffed it was only Saudi Arabia when they opened the tournament with a 5-0 win, they produced another high‑energy display full of confident verve. So far this World Cup could not be going any better for the home country.
This might have been Russia’s night but Egypt brought a unique sense of occasion. Their fans were massed all over the ground, bringing an electric surge of excitement from the moment they saw Salah’s face adorn the big screens. The sense of hero worship created an expectancy that was almost unfathomable for a player whose fitness had been so instrumental to this World Cup experience for his country.
After three and a half weeks nursing an injured shoulder Salah returned into a game played with frantic intensity. Russia were buoyant. The feelgood factor bristled around the stadium. Their coach, Stanislav Cherchesov, had claimed he had plans to nullify Salah, and evidently the plan was to dominate, to attack in numbers, to demand possession, to shoot on sight and to ping high balls into the box whenever possible. The ball was pushed forward with a thrilling urgency that cranked up the pressure.
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Egypt settled and began to weave together some moves. Salah had a couple of glimmers, aided by Marwan Mohsen’s determination as his attacking foil. Both managers gesticulated furiously, pounding around their technical areas, immersed in the desperation. At a moment of brief respite after a shot sailed over the bar the goalkeeper, Ahmed El-Shenawy, gestured to everybody to just calm down. Even for a second. Try to breathe.
Egypt’s hopes were hit by a body blow just after half-time. Russia’s goal came suddenly and awkwardly. Instigated by Aleksandr Golovin, whose cross was punched weakly by El-Shenawy, Roman Zobnin struck the rebound into the ground and the trajectory was going wide. But Ahmed Fathi, Egypt’s captain, was worried about the presence of Dzyuba over his shoulder, flung himself anxiously in front of the Russian striker, and his clearance was clumsy – devastatingly so. The ball veered into the corner of the net.
Three decisive minutes around the hour transformed the game. Russia were elevated, Egypt flattened. Both goals were carved out with slick precision. First Cheryshev coolly dispatched Mário Fernandes’s clever reverse pass. Then Dzyuba gave an exhibition of classic centre‑forward power play, chesting the ball on before curling his shot past El-Shenawy.
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Salah could not quite shake his inner belief when Egypt were awarded a penalty with the assistance of VAR, which advised the referee a foul took place inside the area. He kissed the ball, put it down and slammed it in after an arcing run-up. And that – after all the attention, the national fervour, the work to try to help his nation here in Russia – was that.
Héctor Cúper lamented that Salah had not been in a position to be more influential in the past few weeks. “We all know what Mo Salah means for national team,” he said. “He is a crucial vital player, a point of reference. He suffered an injury. We have all been very worried about it. It happened, that’s it.
“I would have liked him to have been present at the training camp with everybody else. We didn’t have him [in the loss to] against Uruguay. We did here. But it wasn’t enough.” Was he 100% fit? “I was told the player was feeling good. He couldn’t prepare with us in all the sessions, had to train alone, so perhaps his total physical ability was slightly reduced. But I was convinced he was at optimal level.”
The home team celebrated effusively, the song Kalinka reverberating in their ears, with more to look forward to in the days ahead. Cherchesov was asked to consider whether this was the best day of his life. “I hope,” the coach answered, “there are many more to come.”
