In terms of high praise in football, it doesn’t get much better than Egypt's superstar striker Mohammed Salah.
The former Liverpool player played an instrumental role in Egypt’s 3-1 win over New Zealand in Vancouver yesterday to give his country their first ever win at the Fifa World Cup.
“It was a tough team - as you can see they scored first and they were sharp in the first half. I'm lucky in the second half we managed to come back to the game,” Salah told 1News.
The All Whites led for 58 minutes thanks to a Finn Surman header.
Arguably, the first half of football New Zealand produced was the best we've seen in recent history.
But unfortunately for the All Whites they couldn’t sustain it for 90 minutes and it felt like World Cup history slipped through their fingers again.
Salah, who was named man of the match, gave 1News an assessment on the All Whites.
"They’re a tough team they draw their first game and were winning against us, it’s a good team good players most play in Europe at a tough level, mentally and physically they’re strong," Salah said.
Egypt's victory all but sees them through to the round of 32.
As for the All Whites, they’re back at the BC Place stadium on Saturday taking on Belgium in a must-win match.
Watch all matches at the World Cup with an event pass on TVNZ+ | All Whites games free-to-view on TVNZ1 and TVNZ+
SHARE ME