Mohamed Salah World Cup 2018

Egypt’s forward Mohamed Salah applauds during an international friendly football match between Portugal and Egypt at Letzigrund stadium in Zurich on March 23, 2018. / AFP PHOTO / Fabrice COFFRINI

2018 World Cup: A history of Egypt at the World Cup

Egypt have ended a 27-year drought, and are set to compete in only their third FIFA World Cup in Russia.

Mohamed Salah World Cup 2018

Egypt’s forward Mohamed Salah applauds during an international friendly football match between Portugal and Egypt at Letzigrund stadium in Zurich on March 23, 2018. / AFP PHOTO / Fabrice COFFRINI

Egypt have been a dominant force in African football throughout the years, but an entire generation of Egyptians have been deprived of seeing their national team compete on the biggest stage and, thankfully for them, the wait is finally over.

After missing out on qualification for six consecutive editions of the FIFA World Cup, the Pharaohs finally broke that jinx in 2017, when Liverpool star, Mohamed Salah slotted in a late penalty against the Democratic Republic of Congo to send his side to the 2018 edition that will be played in Russia.

This was their first qualification for the global spectacle in 27 years, meaning the hero on the day, along with most members of the starting XI, had never seen their country take part in the tournament… at least not in real time.

However, they do have in their ranks, veteran goalkeeper,  Essam El-Hadary who was well into his teenage years when the Egyptians last took part in the World Cup, the last time it was held in Italy 1990.

The shot-stopper turned 45 in January and, should he take to the field in Russia, he is in line to break Colombia’s Faryd Mondragon’s record, who became the oldest player to play in the tournament when, when he took part in the last World Cup in Brazil, at the tender age of 43 years and three days.

Relief after a long wait

Celebrations following the Egypt’s qualification were understandably wild, as some fans could not believe the long wait was finally over.

They would have been relieved, as many of the country’s senior citizens will have waited almost twice as long between their first and second appearances in the tournament.

The Pharaohs were the first African nation to take part in the tournament, as they competed in its second edition back in 1934, and have only contested one of sport’s most prestigious prizes just twice, despite their dominance in the continent.

Their only other tournament came 56 years later, as they qualified to play in the 1990 edition which was, much like their only other appearance in the competition, played in Italy.

There was a massive sigh in the North African nation, as they knew they would not have to wait until Italy host the competition again until their next appearance.

1934 FIFA World Cup (Italy)

The inaugural World Cup, held in Uruguay, was not preceded by a qualification process but this was not the case in 1934, as 36 countries had made themselves available to participate in the tournament – 20 more than what was then the required number of participants, 16.

African nations slugged it out for with Asian nations and Turkey for one slot in the tournament, and it was Egypt who emerged victorious, becoming the first country from the continent to take part in the competition.

The Pharaohs were one of 10 teams making their first ever appearance in the competition, where a straight knockout format was adopted instead of an initial group stage.

They sent a young squad to Italy, coached by Scot, James McRea, and would make their debut against Hungary, who were also debutants in the tournament.

Egypt’s campaign was shortlived, as they were eliminated in the first round, going down 4-2.

1990 FIFA World Cup (Italy)

Egypt would not participate in the 1938 edition, as there was no spot allocated for an African country and, after several unsuccessful attempts at qualification, they eventually found success as they qualified for the 1990 FIFA World Cup played in Italy.

Qualification

Egypt had a bye in the preliminary stage of the World Cup Qualifiers, as they were one of the top eight ranked teams in the continent, according to FIFA.

They kicked off their campaign against Liberia at Cairo Stadium in January 1989, and emerged 2-0 winners, thanks to goals from Mohamed Ala’a and Mohamed Ekad. This was followed by a 1-1 draw away to Malawi, before another stalemate in Nairobi against Kenya.

The Pharaohs suffered their only defeat in qualification in the away leg against Liberia, losing 1-0 before bouncing back in their next fixture against Malawi, as they won with an identical scoreline.

Their next fixture was against Kenya, and they booked their place in the final round of the qualifiers with a 2-0 win.

They met Algeria in the final hurdle, where early goal from the legendary Hossam Hassan was enough to see them through to their first World Cup finals in over 50 years.

World Cup finals

They entered the 1990 in Italy tournament alongside Cameroon as one of two African representatives, and kicked things off in a promising manner against the Netherlands, as a late penalty by Abdelghani saw them hold a side which consisted of the likes of Frank Rijkaard, Marco van Basten and Ruud Gullit to a one-all draw.

That would be their only goal of the tournament, as their next fixture was a rather frustrating goalless draw against the Republic of Ireland.

They next played England in what was a do-or-die encounter for both sides as, up to that point, none of the matches played in Group F had managed to produce a winner.

Things would not go as planned for the north Africans, as a second half goal from an unlikely source in former Derby County and Liverpool defender, Mark Wright, was enough to see the Poms through, meaning an end to the Pharoahs’ World Cup campaign.

Their African counterparts, Cameroon, however enjoyed a dream run in the competition, finishing first in a group which consisted of defending champions, Argentina, whom they managed to defeat in the group opener, before beating Colombia in the round of 16, to become the first team from the continent to contest the quarterfinals.

England would again prove a thorn in the flesh for another African country, as they triumphed 3-2 after extra time to end the continent’s participation in that edition of the competition.

Egypt – the barren years (1994-2014)

USA 1994

The format for the World Cup qualifiers for the 1994 tournament meant that teams had to take part in a preliminary round, playing each other home and away before progressing to the next round of qualification.

This would prove rather too gruelling for the Egyptians who, after starting with a home win over Angola, would miss out on qualification for the next round, with Zimbabwe moving on.

They however had their own home crowd to blame for the failure to progress as their must-win encounter between the two sides in the group had to be annulled with them leading 2-1, and later replayed on neutral ground, due to crowd violence.

The replay would take place in Lyon, France, and the Pharaohs failed to progress as neither side managed to find the net, with the game ending goalless.

France 1998

They would also miss out of participating in the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France as, having received a bye in qualification, they got off to a flyer, beating minnows, Namibia 7-1, before finishing second in Group Two after losing to Tunisia and Liberia.

Tunisia would win the group, joining South Africa, Cameroon, Morocco and Nigeria as Africa’s participants in France.

Korea and Japan 2002

The next edition of the global showpiece was Korea and Japan, and the Pharaohs would again not be a part of it as they finished third in Group C, with Senegal progressing through to their first ever World Cup finals, where they were knocked out in the quarterfinals.

Germany 2006

Egypt would be absentees again in Germany 2006, as they finished third in their qualifying group, with the Ivory Coast going through for their first appearance of the global showpiece.

South Africa 2010

With the 2010 FIFA World Cup coming to Africa for the first time ever, many sides in the continent fancied their chances, but they had to qualify first.

Egypt failed once again, as they would again miss out narrowly after losing in a tie break against Algeria, as both teams finished with identical records in Group C.

Brazil 2014

They again fell in the final hurdle in qualification as, after making it through the second round, they were beaten by Ghana in the final round, going down 6-1 in the away leg, before saving face by winning 2-1 at home. But that proved not enough as they fell to a 7-3 aggregate score.