Mohamed Salah is fit to play for Egypt in the last-32 match in Dallas after a hamstring strain, but his place in the starting lineup is still unsettled. He trained with his teammates on Thursday and moved freely as Egypt prepared for Australia.
The forward had asked to be substituted with half an hour left in Egypt’s final group match against Iran, and Hossam Hassan later said the change was down to the hamstring problem. Salah has dealt with a similar injury for Liverpool in April, so Egypt have handled his return carefully rather than rush him straight back into the opening whistle.
Hossam Hassan weighs the start
Hassan put the decision in plain terms: “We look forward to him playing tomorrow, though we are not sure whether he is going to be in the starting lineup”. He added that Salah is looking forward to making his own contributions with his teammates tomorrow. That leaves Egypt with a fit forward but not yet a set role for the match.
Salah’s numbers in the group stage make the call more significant. He scored once and created two more goals, taking him to 68 international goals. He is also one behind Hossam Hassan as Egypt’s all-time leading goalscorer, so any minutes he gets in Dallas feed directly into that chase as well as the knockout tie itself.
Australia set for both paths
Tony Popovic said Australia have prepared for both versions of the match. “We have prepared for Salah playing, we’ve seen when he’s not on the pitch the players in those positions where he may play”, he said. “So we’ve prepared for both scenarios and we’ll see tomorrow.”
That approach fits the way Egypt have handled the week. Salah, Hassan and the rest of the travelling party were greeted in Texas by thousands of fans on Wednesday evening, then Salah trained on Thursday and was judged ready for the World Cup knockout match. Egypt reached second place in Group G behind Belgium, which defeated Senegal on Wednesday to secure a place in the last 16, and now the final decision on Salah’s role is the one piece left to settle before kickoff.
