Saudi Arabia scored a dramatic 95th-minute winner to beat Egypt 2-1. And, they finish their World Cup campaign on a high in Volgograd.
Mohammad Salah’s Egypt had to leave empty handed as they failed to win any group stage match.
Egypt took the lead in the 22nd minute as Mohamed Salah scored a delightful goal. It was his 2nd of the tournament. Abdallah El Said played a long ball over the top and Salah needed just two touches to score.
It could have been two just a couple of minutes later when Trezeguet sent Salah clean through. But his chipped finish went horribly wide. It looked like he might have been just offside, however, so VAR would most probably have ruled it out.
Saudi Arabia should have been level five minutes before the break. Ahmed Fathy was penalised for handball just inside the box, even though the ball was fired at him from close range. Al Muwallad stepped up to take the resulting spot kick, but Essam El-Hadary , (45 years old) saved it. He became the oldest player ever to play a World Cup game.
But they did level from the spot at the second attempt six-minutes into first-half stoppage time. Ali Gabr was adjudged to have pushed Al-Muwallad over inside the area. VAR advised referee Wilmar Roldan to take another look at the incident. And, the decision didn’t change. This time Salman Al-Faraj sent El-Hadary the wrong way.
The winner came just after the allotted four minutes of stoppage time. Abdullah Otayf playing a neat pass to Al-Dawsari who brilliant finished first time into the opposite corner. Saudi Arabia took all three points and finish third in the group. And, it left Egypt without a win in three trips to World Cup finals over the years.
FT: Saudi Arabia 2-1 Egypt
Salah 22′ | Salman 45+5 (pen), Dawsari 90+4′