Mohamed Salah’s absence in the build-up to Egypt’s World Cup has played its part in their woes in Russia, but their star’s fitness is not the only contributing factor, coach Hector Cuper says. Egypt’s World Cup hopes were left in tatters after a disastrous spell at the start of the second half in Tuesday’s 3-1 loss to hosts Russia, though Salah scored a consolation penalty.
Salah was starting his first World Cup game in Group A after recovering from the injury suffered in last month’s Champions League final but he made little other impact in a match his side needed to win. “Nobody can argue about Salah’s importance to the team and we’ve been worried since he got injured and it would have been preferable to have had him at our training camp in the build-up to the tournament,” Cuper said. “But obviously we couldn’t do that, as the priority was to get him fit again.
“When we talk about him being 100 percent fit, I have to go with my medical team, and with the player, who said he could play. I was also convinced he was in optimal shape. “It’s hard to say what would have happened if he was on top form but I always say that behind one or two brilliant players there has to be a team.”