Salah and the last chance to explode

Eight years after scoring only two goals at the World Cup in Russia and being eliminated early, Salah has a chance to shine as Egypt has qualified for the 2026 finals.

Captain Mohamed Salah's double and Ibrahim Adel's goal against host Djibouti on the night of October 10 helped Egypt complete their mission early. With 5 points ahead of second-placed Burkina Faso with only the final round of qualifying matches remaining, Egypt officially joined Morocco and Tunisia in qualifying for the 2026 World Cup in North America.

The Return Journey of the "Pharaoh"

Many neutral fans around the world were happy with the Egyptian team's achievement, seeing it as a compensation of fate. In the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, coach Hossam Hassan and his students were determined to top Group A, including Burkina Faso, Sierra Leone, Guinea-Bissau, Ethiopia and Djibouti. The opponents were not too strong, so Egypt's victory in the group - equivalent to a ticket to the World Cup finals - was predicted.

Mohamed Salah (left cover) is eager to play well with the Egyptian team at the World Cup finals in North America in the summer of 2026. Photo: AP

With FIFA expanding the World Cup, Africa's official tickets have been increased from 5 to 9, opening up opportunities for top names to avoid the tragedy of Egypt 4 years ago (although this time it is the turn of traditional teams like Nigeria, Cameroon or South Africa... to face the risk of stopping right from the qualifying round).

Not without challenges from opponents, however, with stability and courage, Egypt created an impressive qualifying campaign. Coach Hossam's team scored 19 goals and only conceded 2. They also kept a clean sheet in 7/9 matches, won 7 matches and drew the remaining 2 trips.

The match against Djibouti is the time to "lock in" a ticket to the World Cup finals. Despite having just gone through a series of 5 "goalless" matches in the Premier League, Mohamed Salah still shined when he returned to the national team. His two goals against Djibouti not only contributed to the final 3-0 victory, but also helped Egypt secure an early ticket.

Inspiration for teammates

It is not an exaggeration to say that Salah is the best player in the history of Egyptian football. Previously, Egypt took 6 decades to win 2 tickets to the World Cup finals. But since Salah appeared, only 7 years were enough for them to repeat this feat.

In 2018, Egypt won a ticket to the World Cup finals for the third time thanks to Salah's great contribution. Unfortunately, an injury in the Champions League final caused Salah's dream and the dream of the people of the land of the pyramids to disappear. At that year's World Cup in Russia, Egypt did not win any match and was eliminated early despite Salah scoring 2 goals.

Four years later, Salah suffered another tragedy in the play-off round between Egypt and Senegal. The two teams drew 1-1 after two matches and entered the penalty shootout. The star dubbed "Egypt's king" had a laser light shined in his eye and missed the first penalty of the shootout, causing Egypt to lose the match.

The Liverpool star now has a chance to reap glory with the national team. At 33, the 2026 World Cup in North America will likely be Salah's last chance to show his talent on the biggest stage on the planet. Egyptian fans hope their captain will explode in his final appearance at this prestigious tournament in the summer of 2026.

With 9 goals and 5 assists after 9 matches, Salah is the most effective African striker in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers. The Liverpool star is the driving force for Omar Marmoush, Mostafa Mohamed and Ibrahim Adel, opening up a promising future for the Egyptian team.

"The Egyptian coaching staff and medical team need to let him play and recover properly so that he can shine brightly at the month-long tournament in North America in the summer of 2026.

20 national teams have qualified for the 2026 World Cup: Co-hosts: USA, Mexico, Canada; South America: Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Ecuador, Paraguay, Colombia; Africa: Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Algeria; Asia: Japan, Iran, Uzbekistan, South Korea, Jordan, Australia and Oceania: New Zealand.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/salah-va-co-hoi-bung-no-cuoi-cung-196251011204533717.htm