Russia coach Stanislav Cherchesov says the World Cup hosts have figured out a way to stop Egypt’s striker Mohamed Salah on Tuesday in Saint Petersburg. The Egyptian forward scored 44 goals in a sensational first season for Liverpool and is keen to make his World Cup debut in Russia after missing the Pharaohs’ 1-0 opening game loss to Uruguay with a shoulder injury.
Salah’s name has been creeping into conversations often since Russia’s 5-0 thumping of Saudi Arabia in Thursday’s tournament curtain-raiser. But Cherchesov said he was not particularly concerned. “We know how to play against him,” the Russia coach said after the team’s morning training session on Monday.
“We are ready to stop Salah and we will.” Russia’s convincing win over the Saudis was preceded by a seven-match winless streak and a spate of injuries that wiped out almost the entire defensive line.
But the men in red are now on the edge of making their first knockout stage of a World Cup in post-Soviet history. The achievement would be a huge relief for both players and Russians who worried about being humiliated on home soil in the world’s biggest sporting stage.