Egypt looked on its way to a 0-0 draw with Uruguay on Friday to open up its World Cup campaign, with Mohamed Salah spending the entire match on the bench. The African nation defended well and did everything in its power to stop a talented, but sloppy Uruguay in Group A play, but it still wasn’t enough to get the result.
Jose Maria Gimenez scored a glorious header in the 89th minute as Uruguay earned a 1-0 win and three valuable points in the group. It wasn’t close to Uruguay’s best performance as a youthful midfield struggled to create, and Luis Suarez wasn’t himself. He wasted valuable chances on goal, but the South Americans dug deep, and connected on a late free kick from Carlos Sanchez that found Gimenez perfectly.
The win puts Uruguay on three points in the group, while Egypt has zero points and is facing a must-win against Russia in their second match.
Uruguay had 57-percent possession and four shots on goal, but it’s a game the team could have had in the bag earlier. Egypt deserved a point in the end with how well they defended, but the late magic was enough and spoiled Salah’s birthday.
The Liverpool star was expected to play, but coach Hector Cuper kept him off with Egypt defending well. Now, they are going to need him more than ever with six points still up for grabs.
