Egypt Ready to Face Belgium in the World Cup with a Star-Studded Squad Led by Mohamed Salah

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SEATTLE (AP) — Egypt's World Cup debut against Belgium on Monday will feature Mohamed Salah, the Liverpool star, in a challenging match against the veteran Manchester City stalwart Kevin De Bruyne and his talented teammates.

Egypt has never won a World Cup match and has only been in the lead once in their seven encounters. However, the Pharaohs insist that they should be taken seriously in Group G.

Alongside Salah, who has not yet decided where he will play next after nine years with Liverpool, Egypt's attacking lineup includes Omar Marmoush from Manchester City. The Salah-Marmoush duo has caught the attention of Belgian coach Rudi Garcia, who managed Salah at Roma.

"Obviously, they have other qualities, other players. This is a team that always wants to compete. It's a solid team that deserves respect," Garcia said on Sunday.

Egypt's coach, Hossam Hassan, showed moderate confidence before the match. Hassan, Egypt's all-time leading scorer with 69 international goals, scored one against Algeria in 1990 to help Egypt qualify for the World Cup for the fourth time.

Hassan pointed out that Egypt's goal is to advance beyond the group stage in the expanded tournament.

"We have a negative perception because we haven't participated, except for four times, in the World Cup. But I think we now have a generation that deserves to be here," Hassan said.

However, the odds will be against Hassan's team for reasons that go beyond having to play in the middle of the day, local time, in the midst of a heatwave in Seattle. The Belgian team includes survivors of the "Golden Generation" like De Bruyne and goalkeeper Thibault Courtois, as well as emerging figures like winger Jeremy Doku.

"As I said at the beginning, the Belgian team is incredible, full of stars. I respect the Belgian national team. There's no need to say what they're capable of," Hassan said.

Despite this, the Egyptians believe they can compete, having beaten Belgium three times in four friendlies.

"It would be nice if history repeated itself," Hassan added.

Belgium faces pressure to avoid a repeat of their 2022 performance in Qatar, where they failed to advance beyond the group stage. Belgium was third in 2018 in Russia.

Belgium will need to neutralize Salah or, at the very least, slow down the four-time Premier League Golden Boot winner. Salah, who toned down his usual performance in his last season with Liverpool, scored nine goals and three assists in six World Cup qualifiers.

"There's no need to say that Mohamed Salah is important. (But) everyone is important," Hassan said.

The coach believes that Egypt can surprise with the players surrounding Salah.

"We have many talents besides Salah, besides Marmoush. We have very good players, and if God willing, people will see them and they will be a factor that contributes to their success," Hassan said.

Coverage of AP on the World Cup: https://apnews.com/hub/world-cup