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The Russian hosts continue to mesmerize their home fans, as a convincing 3-1 victory over Egypt has all but secured a spot in the knockout stage of the tournament. In a closely fought contest, it took an own goal from Egyptian captain Ahmed Fahti in the 47th minute to release the shackles from the relentless Russian attack.
Denis Cheryshev added to the Russian lead in the 59th minute, scoring his third goal of the competition, after a fantastic assist from right-back Mario Fernandes. The hosts went on to take an insurmountable 3-0 lead in the 62nd minute, courtesy of a clinical finish from their striker Artem Dzyuba.
Mohamed Salah then went on to convert a 73rd-minute penalty, merely a consolation goal for the ambitious North Africans, who will now be eliminated from Group A, should Uruguay avoid losing to the underdogs from Saudi-Arabia.
Their first tournament goal is presumably the only encouragement the Pharaohs can take from a rough night in Saint Petersburg, as we look at three things that went wrong for Egypt in last night's contest at FIFA World Cup 2018.
#3 Poor Possession Play
An aspect of the Egyptian game that was always going to be a wild-card in this game, was how they would deal with the longer possession phases.
While Uruguay were happy to take charge of the opening game, the Pharaohs were inclined to do so themselves, if they wanted to be successful against the hosts in Saint Petersburg.
Frankly, the North Africans were overwhelmed with the ball at their feet and struggled to spread the game into the areas where they had an advantage over the Russian team. Along with the technical errors in their build-up play, Egypt never appeared to have a plan on how to unhinge the Russian defence.
While Mohamed Salah was comfortable sitting out wide (more on that later), Mohamed Elneny couldn't provide the spark that the Pharaohs desperately needed to hit the ground running in the competition.
Egypt's heroic defensive effort against Uruguay was praised for all the right reasons, but their match against Russia showed, that the side significantly lacks quality in the middle of the park.
However, their lack of creativity in possession is just one of the reasons, why they are facing an early exit from the 2018 World Cup.
#2 Lacklustre Defending
After one of the strongest defensive efforts we've seen at this year's World Cup against Uruguay, the Egyptians failed to find any of their characteristic resilience against effective hosts in Saint Petersburg.
While Ahmed Fahti's own goal was the logical result of a poor punch from goalkeeper Mohamed El Shenawy and an even worse tackle from the captain, the writing was on the wall for the Pharaohs for quite some time.
Egypt seemed completely overwhelmed by the physical force of Artem Dzyuba, paired with the creativity of Denis Cheryshev and Aleksandr Golovin. While Russia's attack was less threatening than Uruguay's, their prolific goalscoring showed the Egyptian defence their limits quite clearly.
The three conceded goals were thoroughly deserved, as El Shenawy could not reproduce his heroic performance against Suarez, Cavani and their teammates. If Egypt want to be more successful at big tournaments, they seriously need to work on their defensive structure and tactical prowess, in order to avoid defeats like this in the future.
#1 Woeful Salah
Finally, it's time to address the elephant in the room. Salah went completely missing last night, despite the Egyptian hopes largely resting on his shoulders.
While the wizard himself couldn't reproduce his fantastic form at club level, it's his tactical role in the African team, that is truly puzzling.
When watching Ronaldo for Portugal, Messi for Argentina or even Gareth Bale for Wales, the centre-pieces of so-called 'one-man-teams', you can see them begging for the ball. They move deeper and deeper, even into their own half, to get their team going and initiate their teams' attacks.
Salah was almost a non-factor in Egypt's defeat and last night was an indicator, that the Egyptian still has a lot of potential before reaching the top of his game. Rather than being at the heart of his nation's attacks, the Liverpool star rarely left his favoured right win to get involved in the build-up play.
Admittedly, Salah isn't a typical playmaker and his pace is arguably his greatest asset, but at international level he simply needs to be more involved to help his team onto the right track.
The winger is undoubtedly the best footballer in Egypt's side and he should probably work more towards the middle of the park, in order to elevate his teammates' level of play. He may have scored the penalty, but after watching today's match, it's hard to believe that a Ballon d'Or contender graced the Saint Petersburg pitch in a night to forget for the Africans.
Is Egypt's World Campaign over? Sound off in the comments section below!
