World Cup 2018: No problems, no points, no happiness - Mohamed Salah slips into the shadows shrouded in sadness and controversy

Salah refused to speak to the media or collect his man-of-the-match award as Egypt crashed out of the first World Cup in nearly three decades with a hat-trick of defeats

It was a World Cup that Egyptians had waited so long for. Twenty-eight years, to be precise. But after the final whistle blew on their 2-1 defeat against Saudi Arabia at the Volgograd Arena on Monday, Mohamed Salah, their star player, was in no mood to hang about.

Selected as Fifa’s man of the match, he did not attend the usually obligatory press conference to collect his award. He walked through the mixed zone without stopping to talk to the journalists waiting with so many questions. The obvious question concerned the claim in an eve-of game CNN report – subsequently denied by the Egyptian Football Association – that he was ready to quit the national team in the wake of an unhappy tournament on and off the field.

Asked by an Egyptian reporter if he would be making an official comment on his Twitter account, Salah replied: “No tweet because no problems.” With that Salah, English football’s 2017/18 double footballer of the year and, moreover, the idol to 100 million Egyptians, was gone from Russia 2018.

The Liverpool forward had earlier scored a fine goal, an effortless lob over the outrushing Saudi goalkeeper, Yasser Al-Moisalem, to open the scoring. That made it two goals from two World Cup appearances – and 50 from 58 over the past season, for club and country. There was not so much as a flicker of a smile, though.

It is inevitable that he, and every Egyptian, will wonder what might have been had he been fully fit following the dislocated shoulder he suffered in the Champions League final. World Cups seldom end happily for players who turn up playing catch-up with their fitness – something England fans with memories of David Beckham in 2002 and Wayne Rooney in 2006 know only too well. And neither of those ended up in Grozny posing for a photo with, and receiving honorary citizenship from, the controversial Chechen leader, Ramzan Kadyrov. Grozny in Russian translates as ‘fearsome’ or ‘terrible’ (as in Ivan); Salah, you suspect, would opt for the latter translation given his reported discomfort. The backlash from millions of Egyptian football fans over the national association’s decision to base the team there – at a UAE-funded hotel – will not end in a hurry.

The omission of Salah's name from the original team sheet tweeted by the Egyptian FA before Monday’s match was said to have been a simple human error, yet it thickened the intrigue. So many questions, and not many answers.

Mohamed Salah carried the disappointment of 100m Egypt fans (Reuters)

Asked about Salah’s refusal to attend the post-match press conference, the Egypt coach, Héctor Cúper, said: “I don’t know why Salah is not here. I cannot answer. I know he was with the doctor but I can’t confirm why he is not here now.”

Mohamed Salah has attracted criticism for meeting Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov and receiving honorary citizenship (AP)

However Cúper said he did not believe Salah would quit international football. “I don’t think so. I don’t think it’s true because all those who are here, and lots who couldn’t come, really appreciate the opportunity to play for their country. So I don’t think that’s true.”

Cúper admitted that Salah´s impact had been hindered by his lack of fitness. “Maybe he wasn’t able to do what he normally does, what we’re used to, but he scored,” he said of the player who operated as a second striker against Morocco and missed a golden chance at 1-0, dinking the ball wide when clean through. “He had another opportunity. But he did play. Maybe we could have expected more but he isn’t the only one. He needs help and support from his team-mates as he supports his team-mates.”

Salah looked like a player who was carrying much more than just Egypt's World Cup hopes (EPA)

On an evening when Salah delivered the only shot on target his team-mates were evidently not up to the task. They have not won a game since Salah´s last-minute penalty against Congo secured their passage to Russia. In his absence, they lost to a late Uruguay goal in their opening Group A match, the first of three defeats. Salah’s two goals were not enough – nor the unlikely contribution of the 45-year-old goalkeeper, Essam El-Hadary, who came into the team in Volgograd to set a record as the World Cup’s oldest player, and ended up saving a penalty.

The only Egypt player to stop and speak to reporters, El-Hadary said: “I am really sorry for our players, for our fans, for everyone in Egypt. I can thank my team-mates who helped me get this record but I am really so sad with our result in the World Cup for all the Egyptian fans.” He is not the only one. Just ask the man who got them there.