Mohamed Salah goal: Egypt star refuses to celebrate after scoring vs Saudi Arabia at World Cup 2018

The Liverpool forward refused to celebrate after a delightful opening goal

Mohamed Salah opened the scoring in Egypt’s Group A dead rubber against Saudi Arabia with an early goal – only to then decide against celebrating.

The Liverpool man took just 22 minutes to open the scoring with his second goal of the tournament.

Sprinting between two Saudi Arabian defenders, Salah latched onto a long ball over the top, quickly bringing the ball under control and then chipping the ball over goalkeeper Yasser Al-Mosailem.

The goal was celebrated enthusiastically by Salah’s team-mates – including 45-year-old goalkeeper Essam El-Hadary who dropped to his knees in delight – but Salah’s reaction was rather more restrained.

He instead walked calmly back towards the centre-circle, pausing only momentarily as his team-mates raced to embrace him.

Salah took to the field in Volgograd after a difficult few days during which his international future was called into question.

It was reported on Sunday that the Liverpool forward was weighing up his international future over the controversy that has come from him being filmed with Chechnya leader Ramzan Kadyrov while at Egypt’s World Cup base in Grozny.

Salah has since been made an “honorary citizen of the Chechen Republic” according to Kadyrov, who tweeted it in a ceremony with the player.

“Mohamed Salah is an honorary citizen of the Chechen Republic! That's right!” Kadyrov wrote. “I gave Mohamed Salah a copy of the order and a pin at a celebratory dinner that I gave in honour of the Egyptian team.”

However, Egyptian FA board member Essam Abdel Fattah has insisted that Salah is not about to turn his back on the team.

Mohamed Salah of Egypt celebrates after scoring his sides opening goal (Getty Images)

“This is a big lie,” he told Goal. “Nothing like this is true and I wonder how CNN are reporting these things.”