Mo Salah stands in Socceroos’ World Cup path as he strives to become Egypt’s greatest | Jack Snape

I t was fitting that it was Mo Salah who scored to put Egypt ahead in their World Cup match against New Zealand a little over a week ago. The Pharaohs, for all their achievements in Africa, had never won a World Cup match. Fighting back from 1-0 down to the All Whites, Salah helped engineer a long-awaited victory , at the same time moving to within one of Egypt’s record goalscorer Hossam Hassan, also the team’s coach at this tournament. “In years to come, we will remember that this was one of the achievements in history,” Salah said after the match, which finished 3-1 and all but secured the nation’s progression to the last 32. As Hassan, Salah and the players were celebrating in Vancouver, swarming fans brought honking traffic to a standstill in Cairo to recognise the achievement. “Egyptians always knew that in past World Cups, whether that be in 1990 or in 2018, we always had the idea that the team has what it takes to get through the group stage,” says Saher Ahmed, a journalist with Egyptian football website KingFut. “But somehow we never do.” Salah has been a stalwart for Egypt across 119 appearances, including reaching the 2018 World Cup, but his international career has been defined by near misses. He has never won the African Cup of Nations, making his debut for the Pharaohs a year after their most recent success in 2010 – their third win in succession. …