SAINT PETERSBURG, June 18 (Xinhua) -- Looking into its match on Tuesday evening against Russia fresh from a 5-0 rout of Saudi Arabia, Egypt pins its hope on the return of ace player Mohamed Salah.
Salah missed Egypt's opening World Cup Group A match against Uruguay where the Pharaohs lost 1-0 and coach Cuper Hector hoped his top star could recover in time from his shoulder injury for the match against host Russia, who clinched the biggest win by a host in the World Cup opening game since 1934.
"Mohamed Salah is one of the best players and among the top 10 in the world ... Hopefully tomorrow he will make it," said the 62-year-old Hector.
The forward, who was the recipient of the Premier League Golden Boot in the 2017-18 season, scored 44 goals in all competitions for Liverpool last season and netted 70 percent of all Egypt's goals in qualifying. His appearance will be crucial for Egypt who is in its first World Cup since Italy 1990.
Hector said that they had physical tests before the matches and he hoped this time Salah could be fit enough to pass the test. "He is central piece in our team," he said.
"We know how difficult the next match is," he added. "We have already chosen our path forward, and we will go all out to win the next three points...The more you increase the level of competition, the more demanding the test is. We have our style."
At the press conference on Monday afternoon, reporters also threw questions about Salah to the Russian coach Stanislav Cherchesov. With five goals in its first match, Russia is quite likely to secure a position for the knockout stage should it achieve another win.
"Every team has a player who deserves special attention, but we are against a team," Cherchesov said. "Tomorrow we will see if he plays, but we are ready for any eventuality."
He noted that the Egyptian team has some similarity with Saudi Arabia. "We have studied the team Egypt and we should use their weaknesses," he said.
"I trust my team, I believe in my players. We are ready to do this and we will do this," he said.
