FT World Cup 2018: Egypt with a surprise loss to Saudi Arabia

The age-old adage, “same story, just a different day” proved true for Egypt in their disappointing World Cup journey as they closed off their campaign with a shock 2-1 loss to Saudi Arabia.

It was a game that had little but pride to play for, considering that both teams were already eliminated from advancing into the knockout rounds from Group A after losing their first two matches.

“The Pharaohs” drew first blood in their first convincing attack of the game when Mohamed Salah latched onto a long ball from Abdallah El-Said and chipped the ball over the advancing keeper into the back of the net.

Saudi Arabia, however, was given a penalty in the 41st minute, which was brilliantly saved by legendary goalkeeper Essam El-Haddary, who was celebrating a milestone during this game. The Egyptian goalkeeper became the oldest player to ever play at the World Cup, at 45 years-old, and capped that honor by cooly saving Fahad Al Muwallad's penalty.

However, Saudi Arabia was to be given another penalty on the stroke of halftime of which this time they were able to convert as Salman Al Faraj sent El-Haddary the wrong way to draw the two sides level. The Saudis then put the last nail in the coffin for Egypt as they snatched a winning goal at the very death courtesy of Salem Al Dawsari's close-range finish, which further emphasized a very humiliating Egyptian World Cup display.

As they bid farewell to the World Cup, Salah’s future with the Egyptian national team has been a key talking point. This comes after his involvement in a political row during his stay with the Egyptians in Chechnya during the World Cup. It is said that before the World Cup commencement, Salah was pictured alongside Chechen Republic leader Ramzan Kadyrov at Egypt's base. Kadyrov declared Salah as an honorary citizen of Chechnya in a ceremony that Salah attended.

Nonetheless, this will be a very forgetful World Cup experience for Egypt especially because much was expected from the North Africans but instead, they choked at the biggest stage. Lessons were learned and hopefully “The Pharaohs” will bounce back and win the hearts of Africa once more.

FT World Cup 2018: Tunisia goes down hard but they go down swinging

The odds really seem to be against the North African Les Aigles de Carthage in this tournament as they once again lost a game that they really needed to win to stay in the competition. Belgium did not just beat them, they scored more than double what Tunisia produced in an overwhelming 5-2 win. In case you are wondering how so much was accomplished, here is a snippet below.

Wahbi Khazri capitalized on the assist from Hamdi Nagguez and scored for Tunisia just before the referee blew the whistle. What a redemption for Tunisia! Earlier in the game, Dylan Bronn had taken a free kick from Saif-Eddine Khaoui which he then headed into the center of the net. Maybe this undesirable outcome can be accredited to the change of the players that started off the game from the Tunisian side. Farouk Ben Mustapha had to step in for the Tunisian goalkeeper who got injured during the game with England. Such a critical change during a desperate time is least likely going to yield good results in most cases, and this one happened to be one of them. Two of their players also had to exit the game before the end of the game, due to injury and this may have had an impact on the team too.

On the Belgium side, the drops of the victory started to pour in early into the game. Just after 6 minutes, a foul that worked in Belgium’s favor gave Eden Hazard a chance to capitalize with a penalty and he easily put the ball into the net while the Tunisian goalkeeper just knelt in front of the goal post. Lukaku was on fire too! Just before the teams adjourned for the first half, he had two goals under his belt for the Belgians. Even though he eventually left the game due to an injury, it did not stop the Red Devils from pouring in goals. Hazard and Batshuayi also each contributed one goal to the game which led to this incredible victory.

Tunisia needed to win this game, but we do not always get what we need. Tunisia will face Panama on Thursday, the 28th of June which might be their last game. As they pack their bags, they will say “we did not win the World Cup, but we participated and represented Africa in the World Cup!”

FT World Cup 2018: Tunisia suffer heartbreaking loss against England

Fouls in soccer are inherently bad and referees are there to deal with them diligently, but for Tunisia, a careless foul from England help produced their first and only goal. Kyle Walker decided to stretch his elbow on Fakhreddine Ben Youssef which knocked him to the ground and the referee took notice of it. When the referee granted the penalty to Tunisia, Ferjani Sassi took it on behalf of the team and the ball hit the net just where it needed to.

Tunisia’s performance was more impressive in the second half as they strengthened their defensive line. They shifted to the 5-3-1-1 strategy, which tightened the bolts for them. England then struggled to get the ball past this compressed line of defense. Despite the pressure that Tunisia were able to create in the second half of the game, one goal was all they could get. This strategy was more or less employed throughout the game, however, the outcome was affected by two set-piece plays for England. 

The captain of the English team, Harry Kane, lived up to the moment scoring both goals for England, including the winner late on. He was in the right place at the right time to finish the ball off in the 11th minute after a save from the goalkeeper from the ensuing corner kick. Then, in the 91st minute, another corner kick and another example of excellent placement from Harry Kane that was complemented by his header, which came at just the right time to afford the victory to England.

Tunisia will look to rebound against Belgium on Saturday, the 23rd of June with possibly a new strategy and with hopes of repairing their damaged pride. While we wait for them to revitalize, and pump in new levels of energy, all African eyes will be on Senegal as it takes on Poland. This will be another chance to demonstrate what Africa has to offer at the World Cup.

FT World Cup Summary: Heartbreak for Salah- less Egypt as Uruguay snatch late win

African giants Egypt were beaten by Uruguay in their first World Cup match in Group A.

“The Pharaohs” were missing their star player Mohamed Salah, who was expected to start the match but was surprisingly left on the bench by coach Hector Cuper. The coach cited that Salah was not 100% fit hence he didn’t want to risk the player by fielding him as he tries to recover from his shoulder injury.

Jose Maria Gimenez was the man to break the Egyptians’ hearts with a last-gasp winner in a thrilling encounter. His powerful 87th-minute header was enough to finally break through the Egyptian goal after an impressive Mohammed El Shenawy who dominated between the posts for Egypt.

Egypt was very organized during the match, giving Le Celeste a difficult time to penetrate and capitalize on any of their chances.

Barcelona marksman Luis Suarez and PSG forward Edinson Cavani were both kept in check by the North African giant's defense marshaled by Hegazi.

After holding on for almost 90 minutes, Egypt finally succumbed to Uruguay’s persistence. Egypt gave away a needless freekick which allowed substitute Carlos Sanchez to step up and provide a well-delivered cross which was met by the towering Gimenez. By that moment, the game was as good as over as Uruguay held on for the win in the referee’s remaining added time.

Next up for “The Pharaos” is World Cup hosts Russia on Tuesday evening. Many will be pleased to see Mohamed Salah starting the match to fire up the Egyptians in the final third where they were obviously lacking that much-needed spark. Defensively, the team seems to be well disciplined as they were able to minimize the threat of both Cavani and Suarez. Egyptian fans will be content with that part of their team. Keeper El Shenawy also made crucial saves and his height will come in handy for the team in the next couple of matches.

Russia 2018: Former Nigerian coach believes Rohr should have included more local based players in his squad

Gernot Rohr’s decision to include two Nigerian Professional Football League players in his 28 man squad for the upcoming friendlies against Serbia and Poland did not  sit in well with former coach, Austin Eguavoen. Eguavoen believes that the Nigerian coach could have reaped more from the players who reached the final of  2018 African Nations Championship, eventually losing to hosts Morocco.

"I saw the list and it's a good one," he told Complete Sports Nigeria, "but I think there should be more players from the league in his squad."

Players who ply their trade abroad are usually preferred in terms of representing African countries in major tournaments. One of the popular arguments against such decisions, is that team chemistry and passion may be compromised.

Russia 2018: Only Two Players Based in Nigeria Included in Rohr’s 28 Men Squad

Gernot Rohr’s choices might not positively reflect a lot on home soil but definitely endorses the depth that most people know the Super Eagles have when it comes football. Alex Iwobi, Kelechi Iheanacho, Victor Moses and Wilfried Ndidi are some of the notable names in the Nigerian camp to face Poland and Serbia in friendlies as they prepare for the FIFA World Cup finals in Russia. Only goalkeeper Ikechukwu Ezenwa and the CHAN starman Gabriel Okechukwu are the local players to make this squad. Nigeria will face-off with Croatia, Iceland and Argentina in June finals for a place in the knockout rounds.