Salah’s successor?published at 19:54 BST
Belgium v Egypt (20:00 BST)
Gary Rose
BBC Sport at Seattle Stadium
Experience is going to be key for Belgium as seven of their starting XI are aged 30+.
Egypt also do have a recognisable older head in their first XI in Mohamed Salah, but on the bench they have an exciting youngster who is seen as the successor to the 34-year-old.
That is 18-year-old attacker Hamza Abdelkarim, who made a permanent move to Barcelona – having been on loan at their second team since February – just before this World Cup.
Egypt coach Hossam Hassan suggested in yesterday’s press conference that he could become Egypt’s talisman in the near future.
“We have seen many things (we like with Hamza), his personality, technical capabilities, ambition, what the player wants to achieve,” he said.
“He’s proved it at Barcelona, and when a player is performing for one of the biggest clubs in the world, he can have a very positive influence on Egyptian football, maybe even very soon.”
