Egypt manager Hossam Hassan revealed that Mohamed Salah was confident he would be available for the nation’s first ever World Cup knockout tie despite being forced off against Iran.
Salah lasted less than an hour of Egypt’s helter-skelter group stage finale in Seattle on Friday, trotting over to the side of the pitch to be replaced by Zizo while the game was still very much in the balance at 1–1. For all the inane conspiracy theories about Hassan deliberately hampering Salah so that he won’t surpass his international scoring record for Egypt, this was a decision made by the player’s body.
