'King of Egypt', goodbye

Four years ago, Cristiano Ronaldo produced an emphatic performance as the forward bagged his maiden World Cup hattrick to help Portugal draw 3-3 against Spain in their Group B encounter of the FIFA World Cup 2018 in Sochi. 

With just two minutes left in the regulation time, Ronaldo swerved a sweetly-timed freekick past the Spanish wall and keeper David De Gea as Portugal roared to level terms. 

Ronaldo also made yet another record in that game as he became the first player to score in eight consecutive major international tournaments when he converted a fourth-minute penalty after drawing a faul from his then Real Madrid teammate Nacho Fernandez to put Portugal 1-0 ahead in the game. 

With that goal, the Portugal skipper extended an unprecedented streak of scoring at major tournaments. Since finding the net at Euro 2004, he has gone on to grab goals at three further European Championships and four successive World Cups. 

Thanks to the goal, Ronaldo also became the fourth player to score in four World Cups, following in the footsteps of Uwe Seeler, Pele and Miroslav Klose.

Ronaldo scored once again just before half-time to give Portugal the lead after Diego Costa equalised it for Spain. Portugal conceded two goals in the second half and it looked like Portugal would go on to start their 2018 World Cup campaign with a defeat. 

Ronaldo, however, had other ideas as he curled in a late freekick to ensure a point for Portugal.   
 

Mohamed Salah fired Liverpool to the top of the Premier League as the Egypt star's clinical finish capped a stirring fightback to beat Brighton 2-1 on Sunday.

Jurgen Klopp's side were rocked by Danny Welbeck's blistering strike after just 85 seconds at Anfield.

Luis Diaz restored order with an equaliser later in the first half, before Salah netted after the interval to seal a vital victory.

Salah's third goal in his last three games was his 22nd in all competitions this term.

Unbeaten in their last six league matches, Liverpool sit three points clear of second-placed Arsenal, who face third-placed Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium later on Sunday.

An Arsenal victory would take them above Liverpool on goal difference. Any other result would keep Liverpool in pole position.

For the first time in 10 years, the Premier League's top three were separated by only one point after 28 games prior to this weekend's matches.

Thanks to Salah, treble-chasing Liverpool remain firmly in the hunt for a record-equalling 20th English title in Klopp's final season.

Unbeaten in their last 27 home league games, Liverpool are back in action at Anfield against lowly Sheffield United on Thursday.

After former Liverpool star Xabi Alonso confirmed he intends to stay at Bayer Leverkusen, Brighton boss Roberto de Zerbi is a reported candidate to replace Klopp when the German steps down at the end of this term.

Klopp is a big fan of De Zerbi's attacking philosophy and praised him as a "top coach" this week.

Playing for the first time since their painful FA Cup quarter-final defeat at Manchester United before international break, Liverpool had a shocking taste of De Zerbi's enterprising tactics after just two minutes.

- Salah strikes -

Brighton's Simon Adingra broke quickly in a devastating counter-attack that caught Liverpool right-back Conor Bradley out of position.

When Virgil van Dijk's scuffed clearance rolled to Welbeck just inside the penalty area, the Brighton forward lashed a strike into the top corner to leave Klopp shaking his head.

Salah was making his first league start since New Year's Day after an injury-plagued beginning to 2024.

Looking to make up for lost time, Salah nearly grabbed the equaliser with a curler that whistled just wide.

The Egypt forward threatened again from Bradley's cross, but he couldn't keep his shot on target from a good position 10 yards out.

Liverpool's dominance was rewarded in the 27th minute when Brighton failed to clear Salah's header from a corner and Diaz volleyed home from close-range.

Darwin Nunez's agile effort from flat on the turf was saved by Bart Verbruggen just before the break.

Liverpool midfielder Alexis Max Allister squandered a chance  against his former club with a header that flashed narrowly wide early in the second half.

Dominik Szoboszlai fired past the far post from 20 yards, while Nunez was denied by Verbruggen at the near post.

Wave after wave of Liverpool pressure crashed against Brighton's defensive wall before De Zerbi's men cracked in the 65th minute.

Mac Allister was catalyst with a perfectly-weighted pass that picked out Salah's run into the area and the forward dispatched a composed low finish past Verbruggen.

In a tense finale, former Liverpool midfielder Adam Lallana should have punished his old team, but he rolled his shot wide to Klopp's immense relief.

Croatia set up a dream final with France as they came from a goal down to beat England 2-1 in a nail-biting semifinal at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow yesterday.

Mario Mandzukic struck the winner in the 109th minute after the game headed into extra time following a 1-1 stalemate in regulation 90 minutes. England defender Kieran Trippier gave the Three Lions a fifth-minute lead with a spectacular free-kick before Ivan Perisic levelled the margin in the 68th minute with a first-time flick into the left-hand corner of the net.

And the moment Turkish referee Cuneyt Cakir blew the final whistle after four minutes of added time, the Croatian players burst into wild celebration for having made it into the final for the first time in their history, leaving England to eat the humble pie 28 years after that gut-wrenching defeat against Germany in Italia '90. 

Despite the defeat, this young England team showed they can play entertaining, fearless and not conventional football. Raheem Sterling, Dele Alli, Jasse Lingard, John Stones and goalkeeper Jordan Pickford, whose brilliance under the bar ended the Three Lions' shootout jinx in the round or 16 against Colombia, were really pushing a seasoned Croatian side into tight corners.

And England needed only five minutes to take the lead through a magnificent free-kick from Trippier, who whipped the ball over the wall and into the top right-hand corner that Croatia goalkeeper Danijel Subasic could only watch. England got the free-kick just outside the box when Luka Modric pulled Alli, who looked ominously poised after being nicely fed by Lingard. It was the Tottenham Hotspur winger's first goal on England shirt.

The early goal fuelled more energy into the England attack, with Sterling making those sprints down the right flank. They won a corner in the 14th minute and it was time for another defender to bury it for a team that had proved to be the most successful side from dead-ball situations in this World Cup. But Harry Maguire headed the ball wide off the mark.

The pace of England attack created all sorts of problems for Croatia's defence and a terrible mispass from Domagoj Vida, who was jeered by his the fans whenever he touched the ball, almost allowed Sterling to score another. But the Manchester City forward killed that opportunity by trying to feed it to Harry Kane, who was offside.

Kane, the Tottenham Hotspur forward and the leading scorer in the World Cup with six goals, had his share of chances in the 30th minute. But his shots were amazingly saved by Subasic. After being nicely set up by Lingard, Kane drove a low sided-footed shot that Subasic partially parried and Kane's second attempt off the rebound from a tight angle hit the post before the ball somehow bounced away after hitting the goalkeeper.

Having survived the early onslaught, Modric finally showed up in the final third as he sent through an overlapping Rebic, who sent a rising shot towards the top left post. But that only allowed Pickford to warm his hands for the first time in the evening.

But the post-lemon session offered a completely different picture, with the Croats coming firing in all cylinders. And it turned into anybody's game after Perisic restored parity in the 68th minute.

It was a reward for constant pressure. Vrsaljko curled in the ball towards the far post that Perisic buried with a first-time flick. Four minutes later, Perisic almost got his second goal but his low shot past Pickford came off the far post. Rebic's shot on the rebound came straight at the young England goalkeeper.

England got a golden opportunity to take the decisive lead in the ninth minute of extra time, but Stone's goal bound header was cleared off the line by Vrsalijko. Few minutes later Pickford made an equally brilliant save at the other end off a Mandzukic shot on a Perisic cross from the right.

But the experienced Juventus striker made no mistake to pounce on a loose ball three minutes into the second half of extra-time. After England failed to clear a high ball down the left, Perisic beat Trippier to a header to the left of the box. Mandzukic was first to get the dropping ball and fired an unstoppable left-footer into the bottom right. And that meant dreamland for Croatia.

Liverpool and Egypt star Mohamed Salah has been ruled out of the next two Africa Cup of Nations games with a hamstring injury, his country's football association said Friday.

"Tests on Mohamed Salah, the captain of the Egypt national team, proved that he suffered a hamstring injury and will miss the next two matches of the team at the AFCON," the Egyptian FA said in a statement.

Salah, 31, came off late in the first half of the Pharaohs' 2-2 draw with Ghana on Thursday.

He will therefore sit out Monday's final group game against Cape Verde and any last-16 tie that would follow that.

After drawing their opening two games at the tournament, the record seven-time African champions need to beat already-qualified Cape Verde to be guaranteed of advancing in second place in Group B.

That would tee up a last-16 tie in San-Pedro on January 28, while they could also potentially qualify as one of the best third-placed teams.

He will therefore only feature again at the competition if Egypt make it to a quarter-final on February 2 or 3.

Egypt needed an injury-time penalty from Salah to salvage a 2-2 draw with Mozambique in their opening game at the tournament.

On Thursday they had to come from behind twice to draw with Ghana, Omar Marmoush and Mostafa Mohamed scoring their goals, with the result leaving them on two points from two matches.

The last of Egypt's seven titles at the Cup of Nations came in 2010, a year before Salah made his international debut.

France, Belgium face off.

The two best teams of this World Cup lock horns tonight. A dream match that has every potential to live up to its billing as a Battle Royale.

A fierce fight is on the cards at many levels between the two attacking sides of world football. France are in possession of the richest talent and Belgium in the company of their Golden Generation. Both teams have already proved they can score, hold on to it and come back into the match after conceding goals.          

There will be lots of small fights within the fight.

A fight of class between No. 10s is one of those.

Although not always the case, the best player of the team usually puts on the number 10 jersey in football. The No. 10 jersey carries with it a sense of greatness, a sign of respect and a symbol of hope. The history of the World Cup is filled with magical players who, with this jersey on, put in amazing performances for their countries. The No. 10 jersey was popularised with Pele's phenomenal performance in 1958, and then almost all the greats including Maradona arrived thereafter wearing the shirt and made it more famous. In this World Cup, Lionel Messi and Neymar too wore the No. 10 but could not do much.

It would be interesting to see how the No. 10s of France and Belgium fare. Eden Hazard is not only the best in the Belgium camp but also one of a few top playmakers in the world eligible to wear the number. He is the heart of Belgium that never stops. Either he is scoring or making intelligent assists. He is active all the time. On the other hand, a French wonderkid is wearing the No. 10 in his debut World Cup. And Kylian Mbappe has already more than justified the decision. Interestingly though, Mbappe has invoked memories of Pele by becoming the first teenager since the Brazilian legend to score two goals in a World Cup knockout match.

There will be a battle of wits between two coaches -- France's Didier Deschamps and Belgium's Roberto Martinez. The game plan is all too crucial. At this stage of the tournament, they have adequate knowledge about each other's weaknesses and strength. So, the homework is done and the plot ready.        

There will be a battle of efficiency between two captains in implementing game plans. France's Hugo Lloris can count on his captaincy experience to prevail over Eden Hazard, Belgium's captain for this World Cup. Lloris will keep under the bar while Hazard will lead the attack from midfield. The captain's armband is a test of character. Some rise to the opportunity and become magnificent. Hazard is becoming magnificent.

It will also be a battle between midfield marshals to dictate the game. It would be a treat to watch how France's masterful duo of Paul Pogba and N'Golo Kante operate against Belgium's highly energetic trio of Axel Witsel, Nacer Chadli and Marouane Fellaini.

And, of course, goals are all that matter in the end. So, the focus will be on two rival strikers -- France's Kylian Mbappe and Belgium's Romelu Lukaku. Both are of African origin: formidable, speedy and hungry for goals.  

But which team are going to celebrate in the end? It's a close call. But it is safe to say that the team that prevails in the majority of battles within battles would win the match!

The writer is former Sports Editor of The Daily Star