How will Mohamed Salah celebrate his birthday today?
Thirty-three years have passed. Did anyone keep their word?
Perhaps Salah himself could not keep a promise he made to himself. He has won just about everything possible for Liverpool in his club career; but today, when he takes the field against Belgium, he will want to make up for a big regret. Egypt have played three World Cups and have yet to win a match. For Salah, today’s match is therefore a major challenge too.
For Salah, this may be the last chance to do something big at a World Cup. He will be 37 in four years. He is already going through a transition in his club career. After winning everything with Liverpool, he has bid farewell to Anfield this season. In one sense, the Belgium match is also a new beginning for Salah.
Today’s opponents, Belgium, are also going through a transition. The golden generation of Eden Hazard, Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku raised many hopes but won nothing. Their best World Cup finish was third place in 2018. They were in contention at the 2022 World Cup but failed to get past the group stage that time.
Salah in Egypt’s jersey
De Bruyne left his best days behind some time ago, and Lukaku, struggling with injuries, has played just seven matches this season. Thibaut Courtois is still playing commandingly for Real Madrid, but whether he will get a chance to do something big for Belgium after this tournament is hard to say. For them too, this World Cup is a last chance to do something.
Belgium are also under some pressure this time. No one counts them among the favorites, so in one sense this World Cup is a new start for them.
There is some pressure on Salah too. He was in superb form before the 2018 World Cup. Then he was injured against Liverpool in the Champions League final. He could not play Egypt’s first match at the World Cup, and even after recovering, he struggled to find himself. After that, Egypt lost to Senegal at the 2022 World Cup and were knocked out at the play-off stage. In this round of qualifying, however, Egypt advanced easily.
Some hope for Salah may lie in the presence of several talented young players in the squad. Omar Marmoush has made a name for himself at Manchester City. There is also Ibrahim Adel, who plays for the Danish club Nordsjaelland; and their coach is Hossam Hassan, who holds the record for the most goals for Egypt. Salah’s goal tally is now 67, two short of Hassan’s. There too, on the scoring front, Salah has something to add at this World Cup. He will want to make that start against Belgium.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report