Gimenez breaks Egypt resistance at the death | The Daily Star
08:11 PM, June 15, 2018 / LAST MODIFIED: 08:53 PM, June 15, 2018

Gimenez breaks Egypt resistance at the death

Close. So close. Egypt goalkeeper El-Shenawy thought in the absence of star man Mohamed Salah, he would see off a goal-less draw in the key Group A encounter. But in the end Uruguay did manage to break the deadlock. 

The score was 0-0 till the 89th minute. Cavani’s thumping free-kick in the 89th minute beat El-Shenway but the post had come in the way. Attack after attack had came and they were thwarted.

Then in those dying minutes, Jose Gimenez rose high to beat his marker and thumped home a powerful 89th-minute header to give Uruguay a dramatic victory over heartbroken Egypt. Salah, who had to sit out the match, looked distressed from the bench, the look on his face all too telling. Egypt have been beaten in a key matchup.

Suarez should have fired Uruguay in front at the midway point of the first half, but, when the ball dropped his way from a corner, he failed to finish off a close-range effort, hitting the side-netting instead.

Uruguay continued to labour in the attacking third before the break, while a healthy Egyptian contingent had only Salah's appearance on the stadium's big screen to cheer. Suarez then squandered another opportunity when he ghosted into the penalty area and tried to round off the goalkeeper but El-Shenaway thwarted him.

In the end the match was decided by a centre-back in the form of Gimenez as Egypt again showed their weakness in defending crosses.

Hector Cooper might have been left with that feeling of 'what could have been' had Salah played some part in the game. The Egypt coach had decided to rest the Liverpool forward for the crucial opener and Salah's absence came as a surprise after the coach had said on Thursday that he was almost 100 percent certain to play.

The Liverpool striker, who turned 26 today, injured his shoulder in the Champions League final against Real Madrid, and millions of Egyptians had been on tenterhooks to see if he would recover in time for the tournament.

He now has four more days to work on his fitness before Egypt face Russia in St Petersburg next Tuesday, while Uruguay will play Saudi Arabia the next day in Rostov. 


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