Two-time champions Uruguay begin their FIFA World Cup 2018 campaign against Egypt in a Group A clash in Ekaterinburg on Friday, June 15.
Can Egypt stun Uruguay?
Following Russia's 5-0 win over group minnows Saudi Arabia in the tournament opener on Thursday, the two higher-ranked teams in the group will be hoping to lay down an early marker.
Despite Uruguay being ranked 31 places higher than Egypt which is ranked 14, the focus will remain on Egyptians, who are making the much-anticipated return to World Cup finals for the first time since the 1990 edition.
Will Mo Salah play today?
The festive mood is back in Egypt, and coach Hector Cuper's assurance that their national hero, Mohamed Salah is fit for Friday's clash has only added fuel to the buzz around the tie.
"Salah is doing very well indeed, he's recovered very quickly. We'll see how it goes today. I can almost assure you 100% he'll play," coach Cuper had told the press on the eve of the much-anticipated clash.
The Liverpool superstar's participation was thrown into doubt after he suffered a shoulder injury following a seemingly rough tackle by Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos in the final of Champions League last month.
While initial reports feared the worst, Egyptian FA expressed confidence that Salah would be fit in time for the quadrennial extravaganza, bringing delight to football fans across the globe.
How is Uruguay looking at the Salah threat?
Nonetheless, Uruguay captain Diego Godin has said his team's preparations will not depend on the participation of Salah, the man who had a dream season at Anfield scoring 44 goals across all competitions.
"We have been preparing a long time ago to play the World Cup and it does not depend on a player," Godin told reporters on Thursday.
Oscar Washington Tabarez's men need to be at their best, given their poor World Cup opener record — they have not started their quadrennial tournament finals campaign with a win since 1970.
While Salah is grabbing all the attention in the lead-up to the match, the La Celeste themselves have two of the most lethal forwards going around in Edinson Cavani and Luis Suarez.
Predicted line-ups: Uruguay vs Egypt
Uruguay: Fernando Muslera; Guillermo Varela, Jose Maria Gimenez, Diego Godin, Martin Caceres; Nahitan Nandez, Matias Vecino, Rodrigo Bentancur, Giorgian De Arrascaeta; Edinson Cavani, Luis Suarez.
Egypt: Mohamed El Shenawy; Ali Gabr, Ahmed Hegazy, Ahmed Fathi, Mohamed Abdel Shafi; Tarek Hamed, Mohamed El Neny, Mahmoud Trezeguet, Abdulla Said; Ramadhan Sobhi, Marwan Mohsen.
FIFA World Cup 2018: Global live stream and TV listings
Singapore: StarHub TV and StarHub Go
UK: ITV1.
USA: Fox and Telemundo.
Russia: VGTRK
Middle East: Bein Sports.
