FIFA World Cup 2018: Egypt

Qualification for Russia 2018 was anything but straightforward for Egypt. Despite their standing as the most successful African side and their reputation as a football obsessed nation it took a 93rd minute penalty from talisman Mohamed Salah in the penultimate qualifying match to seal their place in Russia. It was fitting that the vital goal was scored by the Liverpool striker Salah. Since moving to the Anfield side prior to the 2017/18 season the attacker has gone from strength to strength and is now widely regarded as one of the premium attacking players in World football.

One of the most appealing aspects of football is that the fate of a match or a tournament can shift in a moment. Nowhere is this brought more in to focus than with the way Egypts fate in the World Cup appears to have taken a serious blow in the Champions League final when Sergio Ramos of Real Madrid pulled Salah to the floor with the Liverpool player trapping his arm underneath and appearing to suffer a serious shoulder injury. News about the severity of the injury is mixed with Liverpool reporting that he suffered a dislocation whilst the Egyptian FA feel as though it is a strain.

In short there is no doubt that he will be named in the final squad and that he will play, the only question will be whether he is fully fit.

Egypts Squad

Coach: Hector Cuper

The Argentinian coach is vastly experienced having previously coached European club heavyweights such as Inter Milan and Valencia as part of a varied and largely successful coaching career. With the qualification of Egypt for this tournament he has secured hero status in the nation. Cuper very much relies on the pace and the attacking qualities of Mohamed Salah with his natural inclination being that of a defensive coach.

He prefers to set up in a loose 4-4-2 shape with the midfield four aligning in a narrow diamond. The focus of game play in qualification was based around a solid defensive base to repel the opposition before quickly accessing the final third in transition using the pace of Salah to stretch opposition defences.

(N.B at the time of writing the final squad has not been announced)

Goalkeepers

Mohamed Awad, Essam El Hadary, Mohamed El Shenawy

Defenders

Mohamed Abdelshafi, Ahmed El Mohamady, Ahmed Fathy, Omar Gaber, Ali Gabr, Ahmed Hegazi, Saad Samir

Midfielders

Hossam Ashour, Hussein El Shahat, Mohamed Elneny, Tarek Hamed, Mohamed Magdy, Abdullah Said, Trezeguet, Ramadan Sobhi

Forwards

Kahraba, Kouka, Marawan Mohsen, Mohamed Salah,

Egyptian Tactics

During the qualification process there were two main structural systems that Cuper favoured. The first was the aforementioned 4-diamond-2 with Salah in a central attacking role, the second was a more nuanced 4-2-3-1 with Salah starting from wide on the right with the freedom to come inside and support the lone striker centrally.

The key aspect in either structure was still the defensive organisation.

Egypt drop into a deep and relatively passive defensive block as the opposition advance towards the final third. The back four are set to hold their shape and line and deny the opposition space in which to access the central areas. In this example there are two holding midfielders who screen the central passing lanes and look to force the opposition to play wide.

In this