Russia 3, Egypt 1
Group A, St. Petersburg Stadium, St. Petersburg
Russia pulled off another shocking and dominant win Tuesday, a clinical and aggressive 3-1 drubbing of Egypt in St. Petersburg. From the start, Russia energy overwhelmed the Pharaohs, who were still able to keep from conceding in the first 45 minutes.
But barely two minutes in the second half, the floodgates opened.
Aleksandr Golovin stepped into a shot from 25 yards out that was headed well wide, but it somehow found the legs of teammate Artem Dzyuba and Egypt’s Ahmed Fathi who were tangling 8 yards out. The carom sent the ball past goalkeeper Mohamed El-Shenawy and the Russian crowd bonkers.
In the 58th minute, Denis Cheryshev scored his third goal of the tournament, tied for the lead with Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo. Three minutes later with a classy goal from Dzyuba in the 62nd minute. He controlled a long ball off his chest, then tapped it around an Egyptian defender and volleyed a shot past El-Shenawy, who didn’t have a chance at a save.
Just how incredible has Russia’s two-game run been through Group A? The Russians are ranked No. 70 in the world in FIFA’s rankings. They only qualified for the World Cup as a courtesy to the host nation. Their group draw — with Uruguay, Saudi Arabia and Egypt — was called the “group of life;” observers questioned if there was something rotten in the draw because of how favorable it was for Russia. And yet, the Russian were still expected to finish at the bottom of group. Now they have eight goals, and only conceded one: a penalty shot from Egypt’s Mohamed Salah when there was too little time left for it to matter.
What’s next
Russia: vs. Uruguay in Samara, June 25, 10 a.m.
Egypt: vs. Saudi Arabia in Volgograd, June 25, 10 a.m.
***
In Game Updates
Yellow card to Russia’s Smolov
In the 84th minute.
Goal Egypt!
Video replay review came to the rescue for Egypt in the 73rd minute. Salah was pulled down around the 18-yard box and the referee originally gave the Pharaohs a free kick just outside the box. But the play went to replay review, and the call was overturned. Salah took the penalty kick and made no mistakes with the ball, depositing it in the top right corner.
Goal Russia!
And then the Russians follow it up three minutes later with a classy goal from Dzyuba in the 62nd minute. He controlled a long ball off his chest, then tapped it around an Egyptian defender and volleyed a shot past El-Shenawy, who didn’t have a chance at a save.
Goal Russia!
This could be the score that seals Russia’s place in the knockout stage. It was Denis Cheryshev, his third goal of the tournament, from five yards out off a slick pass from Mário Figueira Fernandes.
Just how incredible has Russia’s two-game run been through Group A? The Russians are ranked No. 70 in the world in FIFA’s rankings. They only qualified for the World Cup as a courtesy to the host nation. Their group draw — with Uruguay, Saudi Arabia and Egypt — was called the “group of life;” observers questioned if there was something rotten in the draw because of how favorable it was for Russia. And yet, the Russian were still expected to finish at the bottom of group. Now they have eight goals, the most in the entire tournament, in two games and have yet to concede.
Yellow card to Egypt’s Trézéguet
In the 57th minute.
Goal Russia!
What an awkward way to open the scoring two minutes into the second half. Aleksandr Golovin stepped into a shot from 25 yards out that was headed well wide, but it somehow found the legs of teammate Artem Dzyuba and Egypt’s Ahmed Fathi who were tangling 8 yards out. The carom sent the ball past goalkeeper Mohamed El-Shenawy and the Russian crowd bonkers.
The Pharaohs pleaded for a video replay review, but none came. With less than a half to play, they are already at risk of being eliminated from the knockout stage.
Halftime update: Russia 0, Egypt 0
Russia and Egypt played an even first half Tuesday night in St. Petersburg, both on the pitch and on the scoreboard. They go to halftime in a scoreless draw.
Russia earned opportunities early with a barrage of swinging crosses in front of the goal, but were met by Egyptian goalkeeper Mohamed El-Shenawy, who was active out of his net to pluck balls out of the air. Pharaohs striker Mohamed Salah was mostly blanketed by the Russian defense, but when he had time and space, he found room for a couple promising scoring chances.
In the 34th minute, he nearly got his foot to a cross a few yards from the goal. In the 42nd minute, he spun a defender around just outside the 18-yard box and fired a shot just wide.
The game is must-win for Egypt after falling to Uruguay last week. Russia with a win would likely clinch a spot in the knockout round.
Salah emerging now
In the 42nd minute, the Liverpool striker got his first good scoring chance from inside the 18-yard box, taking a pass around 17 yards from the goal, spinning his defender and firing a shot just wide.
Russia has blanketed Salah all game long, cutting off his runs and taking away his time and space. Egypt has responded by feeding Trézéguet in the attacking area and being more patient before chucking crosses toward the goal mouth.
Egypt applying the pressure
The Pharaohs in the 15th minute won two corner kicks and a throw deep in Russian territory. Those yielded three decent chances, including a winding shot from 15 yards out from Trézéguet that didn’t miss by much.
Russia flying around in attacking half
The host nation is surely fired up with countrymen in the stands making a whole lot of noise. Russia has three shots already by the 12th minute and the match’s only two corners.
Starting lineups announced
And Mohamed Salah is in the game.
Pregame thoughts
The Russians are flying high after a 5-0 win against Saudi Arabia to open the World Cup last week. But Egypt is perhaps the best team in the Middle East, especially with the return of forward Mohamed Salah, who sat out the Pharaohs’ first match with an injured shoulder. After an opening 1-0 loss to Uruguay, Egypt desperately needs a win and three points if it expects to advance to the knockout stage.
The World Cup is here. Want smart analysis, opinions, viewing guides and more? . Every match day through the final July 15.
Team profiles
Russia (1-0-0, 3 points)
- Last World Cup showing: Group stage, 2002.
- Best finish: Fourth place, 1966.
- Notable: Russia’s first-game explosion gave the hosts the most goals and best goal differential in the tournament.
- FIFA world ranking: 70. ELO world ranking: 40.
Egypt (0-0-1, 0 points)
- Last World Cup showing: Group stage, 1990.
- Best finish: Group stage, 1990 and 1934.
- Notable: Egypt has still never won a World Cup game. It had two draws in 1990.
- FIFA world ranking: 45. ELO world ranking: 54.
Read more about the World Cup: