Saudi Arabia and Egypt are essentially battling for third place in Group A when they face off at the Volgograd Arena, after the two sides both lost their opening two World Cup matches.
It has been a particularly disappointing campaign for Egypt, who were already dealt a blow heading into the competition knowing that their star forward Mohamed Salah was still sustaining a shoulder injury. They lost 1-0 to Uruguay in their opening fixture and were thumped 3-1 by Russia in the next one.
Saudi Arabia opened the tournament with a 5-0 loss to the Russians and have yet to score a goal this tournament.
| Game | Saudi Arabia vs Egypt |
| Date | Monday, June 25 |
| Time | 3pm BST / 10am ET |
Squads & Team News
| Position | Saudi Arabia players |
|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | Al Owais, Al Mosailem, Al Mayouf |
| Defenders | Al Harbi, Al Shahrani, Al Breik, Hawsawi, Hawsawi, Hawsawi, Al Bulaihi |
| Midfielders | Al Khaibari, Al Khaibri, Otayf, Al Jassim, Al Mogahwi, Al Faraj, Kanno, Bahebri, Al Dawsari, Al Shehri, Al Muwallad |
| Forwards | Al Sahlawi, Assiri |
Potential Saudi Arabia XI: Al-Mosailem; Al-Berik, Hawsawi, Al-Bulaihi, Al-Shahrani; Otayf, Al-Faraj; Al-Shehri, Kanno, Al-Dawsari; Al-Muwallad.
| Position | Egypt players |
|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | Penedo, Calderon, Rodriguez |
| Defenders | Baloy, Cummings, Davis, Escobar, Machado, Murillo, Ovalle, Torres |
| Midfielders | Barcenas, Cooper, Godoy, Gomez, Pimentel, Quintero, Rodriguez |
| Forwards | Arroyo, Diaz, Perez, Tejada, Torres |
Potential Egypt XI: El-Hadary; Fathy, Gabr, Hegazi, Abdel Shafy; Elneny, Hamed; Salah, Said, Trezeguet; Kahraba.
Match Preview
Saudi Arabia were never favourites to make it out of their group, but neither were home nations Russia – and they now boast the best goal difference in the tournament and won both their opening matches.
Egypt's disappointment at the World Cup will hit hard for fans after so much expectation and hope placed on the team following a near 30-year absence. The injury blow to Salah was the ultimate turning of the knife – the Liverpool star was injured during his side's Champions League loss to Real Madrid and seems to have not fully recovered.
The Egyptian missed out entirely on his side's opening fixture against Uruguay that they lost 1-0, though scored (and won) the penalty in the following game against Russia.
It was a frustrating fixture for the Pharaohs as they failed to gel cohesively and give Salah the space he needed to get a clear shot on target, and now have no chances of making it to the next phase.
“This game will be the toughest one because it’s considered an Arab derby,” Egypt midfielder Kahraba told reporters ahead of the clash.
“Football doesn’t reward the strongest team on paper, it rewards the most disciplined team on the pitch. Saudi Arabia have really special players.
“This generation of players wants to claim a first World Cup win in Egypt’s history. We wanted to make the supporters happy but the previous results were poor and luck wasn’t on our side."
