The Socceroos are preparing to face Mo Salah in their World Cup last-32 match, with uncertainty remaining over whether the Egypt star will start the knockout clash in Dallas or feature as a substitute. Salah trained with his teammates on Thursday, and Egypt coach Hossam Hassan confirmed that the forward is fit to play.
Salah's Fitness and Availability
“We look forward to him playing tomorrow, though we are not sure whether he is going to be in the starting lineup,” Hassan said. “Salah is looking forward to making his own contributions with his teammates tomorrow.” Salah was substituted with 30 minutes remaining in Egypt's final group match against Iran due to a hamstring strain, similar to an injury he suffered for Liverpool in April. However, he has recovered swiftly and moved freely during training.
Salah has scored once and assisted two goals in the group stage, bringing his international tally to 68 goals—just one behind Hassan, Egypt's all-time leading scorer.
Australia's Tactical Preparation
Australia coach Tony Popovic stated that his team is ready for both scenarios. “We have prepared for Salah playing, we’ve seen when he’s not on the pitch the players in those positions where he may play. So we’ve prepared for both scenarios and we’ll see tomorrow.” The Socceroos are without winger Mat Leckie and fullback Jacob Italiano. Popovic must decide whether to start left-footed Jordy Bos at right back after his promising performance against Paraguay.
“We feel relaxed, we feel confident, we feel we’re prepared and we want to put our best performance together tomorrow. It will be a special match and we’re delighted that we’re at this stage, and we want to show once more the Australian football on the world stage,” Popovic added.
Egypt's Physical Approach
Hassan was repeatedly asked about handling Australia's tall, physical side, captained by 1.98-metre defender Harry Souttar. He responded, “Maradona wasn’t the tallest of players, Messi isn’t that tall either. It’s not about being tall or short, we have physical players … We’re not playing rugby here, we’re playing football – not American football – we’re playing football, and we’re ready to go.”
Egypt secured second place in Group G behind Belgium, who defeated Senegal to reach the last 16. The Egyptian team was greeted by thousands of fans upon arriving in Texas on Wednesday evening. “You can’t imagine how delighted we were when the fans received us. There were grownups, there were children. I wanted to hug everyone, I wanted to carry everyone on my shoulders,” Hassan said.
Match Implications
The winner of the Dallas clash will face the winner of Argentina versus Cape Verde, which will be played in Miami after the Socceroos' match.
