Mohamed Salah’s penalty failed to save Egypt as World Cup hosts Russia all-but secured progression from Group A with a comprehensive 3-1 win in St Petersburg.
Making his first appearance since going offinjured in the Champions League final on May 26, Salah was often on the periphery at the Krestovsky Stadium, but still managed to mark his World Cup debut witha consolation on 73 minutes.
However, the damage had already been done in a 15-minute blitz from Russia early in the second half, Ahmed Fathy’s own-goal opening the floodgates.Russia took full advantage of the moment of good fortune, Denis Cheryshev and Artem Dzyuba netting in the space of three minutes to put Russia in complete control.
Despite his struggles, Salah was rewarded for his resilience when he was fouled by Roman Zobnin – VAR overturning the referee Enrique Caceres’s initial decision to award a free-kick on the edge of the area.
The Liverpool star duly converted from the spot but it could not kick-start a comeback,and while Russia’s place in the last 16 will be confirmed should Uruguay beat Saudi Arabia, Egypt look set to fall out at the first hurdle.
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