Mo Salah has arguably been the most popular player in the world so far this year, and he’ll look to lead his team Egypt to a win right out of the gate against Uruguay. That’s going to be easier said than done, especially if proves to be that Salah has not yet fully recovered from a shoulder injury. Will Egypt pull off the upset? Or will Luis Suarez and company show why they’re the hot favorites to top Group A?
The big question for Egypt going into the World Cup is whether Mo Salah is 100 percent healthy. Salah, easily the best player on Egypt’s roster, injured his shoulder in the Champions League finals late last May, putting Egypt’s hopes of getting into the knockout phase in Russia in a higher state of flux. Salah, however said to Egypt’s president that he’ll be fine and ready to go in Russia, so we’ll just take his words for it. It’s important for Salah to be fit, as The Pharaohs will go as far as where he takes them. The Uruguayans pack a punch on offense, but if Egypt could play to their strength and executes their counter-attacking style properly, Salah may just find himself getting fed up front for scoring opportunities.
Betting on Uruguay (-1 Spread)
Egypt have Mo Salah, but Uruguay have the ultra-talented Luis Suarez – and some more. Suarez is the team’s most skilled player, but he’s not the only one Egypt will have to worry about. Flanking Suarez are the likes of PSG man Edinson Cavani and midfielder Matias Vecino. As the top favorite in the group and the heavy chalk in the match against Egypt, the Uruguayans are expected to steamroll past their matches, and the only thing that should worry their backers at this point is the possibility of the team getting over-complacent. To show how ready they are for the World Cup, Uruguay destroyed Uzbekistan in a friendly, 3-0 last week. They should find plenty of chances to score against Egpyt’s side that lost to Belgium recently to the tune of a 3-0 score.
