Sunday’s eagerly awaited all-Arab Africa Cup of Nations quarterfinal between Egypt and Morocco is many things and one of them is a tale of three European stars whose names hang over the Yaounde clash.
One player has not yet made his mark in the tournament, another is already in top gear, while a third is not even in Cameroon, though his presence is still felt.
For the Pharaohs, the player in question is, of course, Mohamed Salah. The Liverpool star is the biggest name of all in the Arab region, and many believe he has been the best player in the world this season.
Salah has not been a standout in this tournament so far. However, there is still time, and the whole of Egypt is waiting for him to shine. If he does then title number eight will be within touching distance.
It is not really Salah’s fault. Egypt have labored through the previous four games and created few chances. Just two goals in 390 minutes of football tells its own story.
Salah is not missing chances — he is just not getting them. It is not that the 29-year-old is drawing defenders away from vital areas so teammates can find space and time in front of goal either.
Salah has been a peripheral figure, but the feeling is that he could make a difference at any time. The ice-cool temperament is there, as he showed in the second round when he fired home the all-important final penalty in a tense shootout to defeat the Ivory Coast and book this last-eight spot.
It may well be that Egypt do not need him to score. Just two goals may have been scored, but only one has been conceded. The seven-time champions under Carlos Queiroz are not going to win any prizes for entertainment, but the 68-year-old is interested only in the trophy.
If Salah has yet to catch the eye, the same cannot be said of Morocco’s star Achraf Hakimi. The Paris Saint-Germain right-back has been excellent so far and, scarily for Egypt, is getting better by the game.
Against Malawi, the 23-year-old was the standout and ended up scoring a beauty of a winner from a free kick, not long after hitting the woodwork from an earlier set piece.
Few would disagree with the words of his club-mate Kylian Mbappe after the game: “Achraf Hakimi,” wrote the French star on social media. “Best RB in the world.”
PSG boss Mauricio Pochettino has also been praising Hakimi and talked about how he tried to sign the youngster for Tottenham Hotspur.
“Achraf is a young player (I have) been following since Tottenham,” Pochettino said. “We were on the verge of signing him for Tottenham, but then he went to play for Dortmund. He has a great capacity to run, his physical potential is huge. He is young, he’s maturing at the defensive level, but he makes a lot of contributions in attack.”
The most important observer at the moment is Morocco coach Vahid Halilhodzic, who is delighted.
“He can change the whole game at any time,” the French-Bosnian coach said, adding, “For me, he is one of the most talented players in his position.”
Hakimi has been building his reputation on the international stage and there will be plenty watching on Sunday to see if he can really stamp his name on the tournament in which he has been perhaps the best player so far. Morocco need him. The team are well organized, work hard and are defensively disciplined, but lack creativity in the final third. When they have his free-kick capability to draw on, that may not be such a big deal.
Halilhodzic is not a man who takes that much notice of criticism and outside noise. He is also not one to pick players based on reputation, which brings us to the third European-based star whose influence will be felt by his absence on Sunday.
Just as Queiroz’s style will not matter if Egypt end up winning, Halilhodzic’s decision to leave Hakim Ziyech in England will be judged according to how Morocco perform in Cameroon.
Nobody failed to notice that two days before the Atlas Lions defeated Malawi, Ziyech curled a beautiful shot into the top corner to put Chelsea ahead against Tottenham in the English Premier League.
If Ziyech was in Africa now, Morocco would be favorites to add to their 1976 title. However, Halilhodzic has stopped calling on the European champion due to what he has called a lack of commitment to the national team and claims that the player feigned injury to avoid playing in friendlies.
Leaving such a star out was a big call and it will come back to haunt the coach if Morocco fail to have any success at this tournament.
If Hakimi leads the team past Egypt then the shadow caused by the Ziyech storm will fade that little bit more, but Mo Salah may just have something to say about that.
