FIFA World Cup 2018 (Relive): Gimenez saves Suarez blushes in Uruguay 1-0 win over Egypt

It’s time for the day two match 1 in Ekaterinburg Arena, Russia here Egypt is ready to take on Uruguay, but who knows that the 90 minutes will go like this way.

 First half: The emergence of Salah less Egypt

The goalless first half proved the beauty of Egyptian football as they became successful in their strategy. Having the two leading men; Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani, Uruguay didn’t get the way to break the confidence of Egypt in their first match after 28 years.  It all started with the fear of Egypt; they began with the formation of 4-2-3-1 of their starting eleven without King Salah. It was looking impossible for them to stop the very first World Cup champion Uruguay but they played tactically correct to make their way. Though the first half was goalless, it is a victory of Egypt that they stopped the impeccable giants to score.

From the very first minute, Uruguay has taken charge to give pressure to the opponents but the time has come when Egypt tried to release the tension in the 11th minute it’s Trezeguet who tried to hit the ball on target but couldn’t convert it into a goal. Later on, in 13th minute Suarez got the perfect heel pass from Varela, but that was a wonderful save by the goalkeeper Shenawy. One more thing goes out of the way for Uruguay that Cavani was playing way too deep in the initial stage, which is not good for the team that should command the match. Now Trezeguet gets some space to score, but he ended up missing the chance out of the box. In the 21st minute, Uruguay is still in the pressure, and they tried to release as Cavani had a beautiful opportunity to convert the goal less drama into their victory but Shenawy wants to send a message to the world. Once again, Uruguay came up with a new strategy to dough the defence through the corner, Suarez got too much space to score but was given offside, even he couldn’t be able to score as the ball changed the angle and missed to enter into the goal. As if now Egyptians continues to impress the crowd they are on their defensive mode. Till then Egypt hits two shots, and Uruguay hits five, but the luck is apparently on the Egyptian side.

Second half: what a struggle it has been for Uruguay!

The second half started with the crowd waiting for Mohammad Salah to enter but the half as well as the wait, both ended up without him. As expected from Uruguay they started with the attack from the very first minute in the first quarter of second half, the score is still 0-0, and they don’t want their scorecard to look like this. In the 46th minute, the real chance was made by Suarez, but he missed the angle once again. Till 49th minute the Egyptian side has seen treatment room more than the ground as they got back to back three injuries but injuries cannot stop the athleticism of Trezeguet as he was looking for someone to support him in the ‘D’ area. Suarez tried to trigger the moment, but till 63rd minute Egypt played well and impressed the fans. They’ve made 216 passes and Uruguay created 324 passes till that time. In the 72nd minute, the coordination between the forwards of Uruguay can be seen, as Cavani assisted Suarez, but goalkeeper Shenawy keeps the ball out of his way. Till that shot, Suarez has taken four shots Cavani has taken 2 and Trezeguet has taken two shots in the match. Egypt is now trying to grab the chance to score as the forward Trezeguet exposing the defence of Uruguay. After his attack, Cavani keeps the hope up by hitting the ball on target, but it will be remembered as the biggest save of the Shenawy’s career. Uruguay is just getting closer and closer, and now Russia has seen the last minute drama as Jose Giminez enters the field gets a cross from Sanchez and the unstoppable header came from the side, it has taken so long for Uruguay to make it. Now the score is 1-0. It’s all over for the Egyptian fans as their team played very well in the whole game; they were good, from goalkeeper to every man in the field. What a struggle it has been for Uruguay! It is a victory for the experienced ones, but the way inexperienced side showed their intent was the positive thing to keep the hopes up for them.