For Egypt, this unhappy World Cup ended with one last kick in the teeth.
A match which had begun with a moment of Mo Salah magic and featured a penalty save from their 45-year-old goalkeeper Essam Alhadary, ended with a third defeat in Group A – delivered deep in injury time by a close-range volley from Salem Al-Dawsari.
It meant a first Saudi World Cup finals win since Saeed Al-Owairan weaved his way through the Belgium defence at USA 94, but for Egypt, the Red Sea derby on the banks of the Volga merely underlined that this was not their tournament. Fancied to push Uruguay and Russia for one of the two qualifying places, they finished bottom of Group A without a single point.
Initially it had seemed like it might be their day. If it had been easy to expect the worst when this first dead rubber of the 2018 World Cup finals began with each team’s centre-forward falling on his backside in the opening 15 minutes, Salah soon brought the contest to life.
The noise levels rose with every suggestion some magic might be about to spill out of his boots. In the 22nd minute it did. Abdalla Said picked up a loose Saudi pass and lifted the ball forward for the Liverpool forward to burst between the centre-backs. With a second touch of his left foot, he lobbed it over the outrushing goalkeeper, Yasser Al-Moisalem, the third goalkeeper the Saudis have used in Russia.
It was Salah’s second goal of the tournament after his penalty against Russia – and his 50th goal for club and country since last summer. Moreover, it was Egypt’s first World Cup goal in open play since 1934
That Salah did not break into a smile might add fuel to the rumours, denied by the Egyptian Football Association ahead of the game, that he was ready to withdraw from the national team. That Salah’s name was left off the starting XI initially tweeted out by the Egyptian FA was indicative of a ramshackle World Cup for the Egyptians, though the omission appears to have been human error.
It has not been a happy time for Salah who arrived here not fully fit thanks to Sergio Ramos’s shoulder-busting judo slam in the Champions League final and then, at the squad’s base in Grozny, played an unwitting role in a PR opportunity for Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, who awarded the Liverpool player honorary citizenship. The Egyptian FA has felt the backlash from furious fans back at home – their anger increased by the presence of a loud crowd of celebrities and sponsors in the team hotel in St Petersburg the night before the team’s defeat by Russia.
Salah should have had a second goal with the game at 1-0 but dinked the ball wide when clean through. He then produced a lovely flick to free Treziguet but his volley flew just wide.
Then came the penalty save from Elhadary that will feature in the montages when this tournament reaches its finish. At 45 years and 161 days old, he celebrated becoming the competition’s oldest-ever player by keeping out Fahad Al-Muwallad’s kick in the 40th minute, leaping to his right to palm the ball against the crossbar.
He was mobbed by his team-mates though like an overeager dad rolling back the years in the back garden, it came at a cost with Elhadary requiring heavy strapping on his thigh to continue.
And lightning did not strike twice when referee Wilmar Roldán awarded a second Saudi penalty in first-half stoppage time, with Elhadary sent the wrong way by Salman Al-Farak. If the first penalty had seemed harsh on Ahmed Fathi, penalised when Yasser Al-Shahrani’s cross struck his trailing arm, this was even more dubious as Fahad Al Mullawad went to ground holding even more of defender Ali Gabr’s shirt than vice versa. Despite a VAR referral, the decision stood.
Saudi Arabia dominated possession in the second period but Elhadary stood firm, beating away headers from Hussain Al-Moqahwi and Muhannad Asiri. Eventually, though, he was beaten. Al-Dawsari is one of the nine players the Saudis sent to Spain earlier this year as part of a partnership with La Liga. He only played 33 minutes for Villarreal but it was against Real Madrid in May. This was an even bigger moment as he angled a volley beyond Elhadary in the fifth minute of stoppage time. A tournament that had begun badly for Egypt was ending in the same way.
Saudi Arabia 4231: Al-Mosailem; Al-Burayk, O Hawsawi, M Hawsawi, Al-Shahrani; Otayf, Al-Moqahwi; Bahbri (Asiri 65), Al-Faraj, Al-Dawsari; Al-Muwallad (Al-Shehri 79).
Egypt 4231: El Hadary; Fathi, Gabr, Hegazy, Abdel Shafy; Elneny, Hamed; Salah, Said (Warda 45), Treziguet (Kahraba 81); Mohsen (Sobhi 64).
Referee: Wilmar Roldán Pérez (Colombia)
