Mohamed Salah has addressed Egypt's controversial World Cup elimination at the hands of Argentina, vowing he will do "everything in his power" to establish the Pharaohs as regulars on football's grandest stage. The tournament proved historic for the Egyptians as they secured their maiden World Cup victory before progressing to the last-16 by defeating Australia on penalties following their advancement from the group phase. However, they suffered a heartbreaking 3-2 defeat to world champions Argentina on Tuesday despite holding a 2-0 lead with only 11 minutes remaining.
Match Controversy
Strikes from Yasser Ibrahim and Mostafa Zico had Salah and his team-mates within touching distance of a memorable triumph before Cristian Romero and Lionel Messi drew the scores level in the closing stages. Enzo Fernandez subsequently nodded home a stoppage-time winner but the furore centred around a disallowed goal for Egypt which would have extended their lead. A VAR review ruled a foul on Lisandro Martinez in the build-up to a spectacular counter-attacking move that would have handed the African side a two-goal cushion.
Salah also believed he was wrongly denied a penalty in added time and Egypt's frustration with the refereeing has since been voiced publicly, with manager Hossam Hassan spearheading the criticism after the final whistle.
Salah's Promise
The Egypt squad were treated to an open-top bus parade for their achievements upon returning home on Friday and Salah has now revealed his reflections following their World Cup exit. The now former Liverpool superstar posted: "I know you're (Egypt fans) still upset, but I promise you that I'll do everything in my power to ensure this marks a fresh start for Egyptian football on the international stage. Qualifying for the World Cup won't be enough, and just participating won't cut it either. This team deserves your trust."
Manager's Criticism
Speaking in the aftermath of the defeat, Hossam Hassan said: "There have been a lot of things to be questioned on and off the pitch. Negative aspects all around. It's just about credibility, lack of credibility with how things unfolded. Perhaps they wanted to keep the world champion in the competition. Perhaps they wanted Messi to stay in the running. The world champions received support at every level. There seem to be pressures from the Argentina side on this outcome."
