It was the second striking shootout between superstars in the space of a few days. After Lionel Messi 2 Kylian Mbappe 3 came Erling Haaland 1 Mohamed Salah 1; the 3-2 this time referred to their respective sides’ scores. It was the immediate reminder the World Cup did not feature some of the planet’s finest forwards. Such can be the fate of players from smaller or less successful footballing nations and if this may be the last World Cup for quite some time which does not feature Haaland, Salah, affected by injury in 2018, may never play in one at his physical peak. Even the younger man is unlikely to join Messi and Mbappe in the ranks of those who have earned the most prestigious prize in the international game.
They may be more reliant on their clubs for succour, solace and status. Between them, they have 39 goals before Christmas in a season where they have had a five-week hiatus. The World Cup-winning striker, though, was Julian Alvarez, who sat out Manchester City’s enthralling Carabao Cup victory over Liverpool. And yet, while Salah seems likely to cede his Premier League Golden Boot to Haaland, the Egyptian is not the luckless individual burdened with most comparisons to him.
