A career defined by World Cup heartbreak

Salah's history with the World Cup has been one of near misses and pain. In 2018, he raced to recover from a shoulder injury sustained in Liverpool's defeat to Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League final, only to be forced onto the bench for Egypt's opener against Uruguay. He scored a penalty against Russia, but it proved a consolation in a 3-1 loss, and Egypt's tournament ended in humiliation with defeat to Saudi Arabia.

The fallout from Russia 2018 was severe — Salah publicly criticised Egypt's football federation over disrupted preparations, and there were reports he had considered retiring from international football. Four years later, Egypt failed to qualify for Qatar altogether.

Even ahead of this tournament, Egypt manager Hossam Hassan was forced to publicly deny reports of a rift with Salah after substituting him during the draw with Belgium. But against New Zealand, any doubts were swept aside.

The weight of a nation

Few players carry the expectations Salah does. Every touch he makes for Egypt is greeted with deafening cheers, and government officials have previously intervened during injury scares — the national team's medic, Dr Mohamed Aboud, recalled receiving calls from Egypt's Minister of Health when Salah hurt his shoulder before the 2018 World Cup.

Former Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou praised Salah's influence on ITV: