Mohamed Salah proves he is still the man as Egypt make history against New Zealand

While at Liverpool, Salah was usually pinned to the right wing, but for the Egyptian national team, he operates more centrally. As the Pharaohs’ number 10, the captain is more involved in build-up play and is even more important for his teammates. This was especially evident against New Zealand, particularly in the number of shots he was involved in.

While Salah himself recorded five shots, another five attempts by Egypt came from his passes. No one at the tournament has done better in this regard so far.

The two-time African Footballer of the Year (2017 and 2018) forced the opposing goalkeeper into two saves, scored the winning goal, and turned his original xG (expected goals) value of 0.56 into a final xGOT (expected goals on target) of 1.67 with his excellent finishing!

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Salah fired three shots from inside the box, while Opta statisticians recorded he had 13 touches of the ball in the penalty area. Only one player has managed more in a single World Cup match so far: Canada’s Jonathan David – 15 against a weakened Qatar.

What kept the Egyptian captain from an even higher rating were unnecessary turnovers - he lost the ball eight times against New Zealand. On the other hand, it’s worth noting that he won it back six times himself, which is certainly not a bad number for an attacking player of his calibre.