The first of three games on Friday sees Uruguay lock horns against Egypt in Yekaterinburg’s Ekaterinburg Stadium. While the result of the game is paramount for both the countries, there is absolutely no denying that all the focus in the build-up to the game has been on Egypt’s Mohamed Salah.
The African country was sweating on the Liverpool forward’s fitness after he suffered a shoulder injury in the Champions League final last month. However, the signs are encouraging as the former Chelsea and AS Roma star trained with the team on Wednesday. There were apprehensions all around that Salah would miss at least his country’s opener. But manager Hector Cuper confirmed that Salah is raring to start the game amid injury concerns – a major boost for Egypt who are playing their first World Cup in 28 years.
https://twitter.com/Pharaohs/status/1006857760577851392?
Uruguay will definitely start the game as firm favourites. Their strike force of Luis Suarez and Edison Cavani can give plenty of headache to Egypt. Cavani was the top-scorer in South American qualifying for the World Cup with 10 goals, while Suarez has five World Cup goals to his name. The history is also on Uruguay side. They won the only previous meeting between the sides 2-0 in 2006.
La Celeste completó el primer turno de trabajos del día en el gimnasio del Sports Centre Borsky de Nizhny Novgorod. https://t.co/vvsONjSBIz#ElEquipoQueNosUne pic.twitter.com/h6QNxnmaw8
— Selección Uruguaya (@Uruguay) June 11, 2018
Sportzwiki brings you all you need to know ahead of the clash between the two sides.
Venue and time:
Uruguay and Egypt will lock horns at Yekaterinburg’s Ekaterinburg Stadium. The action will begin at 5:30 PM IST.
Players to look out for:
From Uruguay, Suarez is the one to look out for. The Barcelona superstar’s knack of producing dazzling displays on big occasions makes him a huge threat for the Africans.
On the other hand, Salah will undoubtedly be the man to watch out from Egypt. The forward had a sensational season for Liverpool and will be looking to replicate that form for Egypt too.
Where to watch:
The Indians fans will enjoy an extensive coverage of the game. The English coverage will be shown on SONY TEN 2 SD and HD channels. The Hindi feed will be aired on SONY TEN 3 SD and HD channels. Bengali and Malayali feed will be available on SONY ESPN SD channel.
Squads:
| Position | Egypt players |
| Goalkeepers | El-Hadary, El-Shennawy, Ekramy |
| Defenders | Fathi, Samir, Ashraf, Abdel-Shafy, Hegazi, Gabr, Elmohamady, Gaber El-Wensh |
| Midfielders | Hamed, Abdel-Razik Shikabala, El-Said, Morsy, Elneny, Sobhi, Trezeguet, Warda |
| Forwards | Salah, Mohsen, Kahraba |
| Position | Uruguay players |
| Goalkeepers | Campana, Muslera, Silva |
| Defenders | Caceres, Coates, Gimenez, Godin, Pereira, Silva, Varela |
| Midfielders | De Arrascaeta, Bentancur, Laxalt, Nandez, Rodriguez, Sanchez, Torreira, Vecino, Urretaviscaya |
| Forwards | Cavani, Gomez, Suarez, Stuani |
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