EGYPT-BELGIUM | Friday 4pm
He was among the most anticipated stars of the World Cup about to open. But his Egypt failed to qualify: last March they lost the play-offs to Senegal – yes, the same Senegal that only a few weeks earlier had beaten them in the African Cup of Nations final – and so Mohamed Salah will be one of the big absentees at Qatar 2022. The Liverpool phenom will watch the World Cup from television after taking part in the previous edition, the 2018 edition organised by Russia. However, with just a few days to go until the opening match of the World Cup, he will have the chance to face one of the strongest national teams on the planet, Belgium. The Red Devils will be there at the World Cup. And they will try for the umpteenth time to seal the so-called ‘golden generation’ with the title that has always eluded them in the last decade.
On the bench will always be Roberto Martinez, confirmed after the uninspiring results of the last two years, in which he did not go beyond the quarter-finals at the European Championship. The coach will test his skills in this friendly against a competitive opponent before next Wednesday’s official debut against Canada. In addition to the North Americans, Group F also includes Croatia and Morocco. Qualification, in short, should not be in question but pitfalls are always around the corner. Egypt, after a change of leadership in the summer – the current coach is former Benfica coach Rui Vitoria – played their last matches in September, achieving convincing victories against Niger and Liberia. Belgium also took the field two months ago, losing the Nations League match against the Netherlands (1-0).
Salah
The Prediction
The outcome of this friendly match will probably depend on the line-up that Martinez will field, but in any case Belgium are favourites for victory. It cannot be ruled out that Egypt may also find the way to the goal on at least one occasion.
Egypt-Belgium’s likely line-up
- EGYPT (4-3-3): El Shenawy; Gaber, Hegazi, Alaa, Hamdi; Ashour, Elneny, Hamada; Salah, M. Mohamed, Trezeguet.
- BELGIUM (3-4-2-1): Courtois; Faes, Alderweireld, Vertonghen; Castagne, Tielemans, Witsel, Carrasco; De Bruyne, Hazard; Batshuayi.
POSSIBLE RESULT: 1-3
