Liverpool attacker Mohammed Salah scored an injury-time penalty to carry Egypt to their first World Cup since 1990. It is a historic moment for the nation and the fans celebrated wildly on the streets of Cairo. Egypt had not featured at the premier football tournament since 1990 but Salah ended that drought with a dramatic 95th-minute penalty that proved to be the winner in Sunday’s 2-1 win over Congo.
Salah opened the scoring on the hour-mark to give the fans huge hopes of qualification. However, Congo’s Arnold Bouka Moutou equalised with three minutes of regular time remaining.
Egypt had a long history of near misses when it comes to qualifying for World Cup and the fans were dreading the worst after that equaliser. However, Salah proved to be Egypt’s hero, sparking pandemonium throughout the stands with his winner.
The Egyptian striker enjoyed a great start to his Reds’ career, having scored 6 goals in 11 appearances so far. It is not just the goals but his swift attacks and link-up with Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane that has endeared Salah to the Kop faithful. It is not an exaggeration to say that he has become a firm fan-favorite at the club and at this rate, he can easily become a cult hero.
The Egypt international has even won Liverpool’s ‘Player of the Month’ award to go with the ‘Goal of the Month’ award for September.
Now with the burden of taking his team to World Cup off his shoulder, the fans can hope for Salah to unlock more from his repertoire. For now, though, get a feel of his success by checking out some of the reactions on Twitter!
QUALIFIED!
Congratulations, Egypt!
Welcome back to the #WorldCup finals and see you in Russia! #WCQ pic.twitter.com/NMwoR6qMSg— #WCQ ⚽️ (@FIFAWorldCup) October 8, 2017
Two goals from @22mosalah – one a 95th-minute penalty – helped secure World Cup qualification for Egypt tonight!
➡️ https://t.co/kzniUZ1KCE pic.twitter.com/4jrr6nBCzZ
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) October 8, 2017
Congratulations to @omargaber and our former players @ElNennyM & @22mosalah for qualifying for the World Cup 2018 with Egypt! #FCBasel1893 https://t.co/UHc4vRd7Uh
— FC Basel 1893 EN (@FC_Basel_en) October 8, 2017
Special night for @22mosalah who’s penalty sends Egypt to the World Cup for the first time since 1990! pic.twitter.com/Bahfn5nufI
— Anfield HQ (@AnfieldHQ) October 8, 2017
Salah contributed in Egypt’s ALL 7 goals in the World Cup qualifications. 5 goals and 2 assists. Egypt’s hero in every sense of the word.
— andrew. (@itsnotJesusXO) October 8, 2017