Egypt had a splendid yet a rather disappointing opening match losing 0-1 to Uruguay. On the bright side, they managed to break the tag of ‘one man army’ and gave an extraordinary performance after a 28-years long hiatus. Uruguay’s star strikers failed to deliver, but the late 90th minute header by centre-back Jose Gimenez gave them the required lead.
Prior to the match, all eyes were on Mohammad Salah, who however spent his 26th birthday watching the match from the side-lines. After Russia took the lead yesterday with a major tally of 5 goals, both teams were charged up to claim victory. The first major shot came from Cavani, in the 8th minute, which was however saved by Mohammed El-Shennawy in a clear diving movement. Cavani had a few more chances, which were put out by heroic headers and a major miss that went over the bar. Suarez missed three great chances, and was caught looking quite crestfallen by the cameras. Egyptian goalkeeper, Shennawy did an incredible job, and was elected the Man of the Match. The African nation defended well and did everything in their power to keep the match at a draw, but the tables turned in the closing moments of the game.
Uruguay had 57 percent of possession and 4 shots on the goal, but it was a sloppy performance from them considering the fact that they have been regular and strong World Cup contenders. The win puts Uruguay with 3 points in the group, while Egypt is facing a must-win situation against Russia with 6 points still up for grabs.
