Russia’s delight in their home FIFA World Cup, continued after a hotly-contested clash with Egypt burst into life in the second half. After a frenetic opening period, lacking the chances the energy and endeavour warranted, Egypt captain Ahmed Fathi handed Russia a gift by deflecting into his own net – already the fifth own-goal at Russia 2018.
Denis Cheryshev and Artem Dzyuba then repeated their opening-match heroics by netting twice in three minutes to extinguish almost all of Egypt’s remaining hope. Mohamed Salah struck from the penalty spot, but the Pharaohs must rely on Saudi Arabia doing them a favour to keep their slender chance of progression alive.
