Sports

‘Salah isn’t world class’

Egypt and Africa’s celebrated football star, Mohamed Salah, may have impressed many but not a Russian whose son is billed to line up against Egypt in the on-going mundial

Published

5 years ago

June 18, 2018

Africa News Watch

Egypt and Africa’s celebrated football star, Mohamed Salah, may have impressed many but not a Russian whose son is billed to line up against Egypt in the on-going mundial.

He is “an exceptional player but not a world-class football star”, says Dmitri Cheryshev, as his son prepares to meet the Liverpool forward in Egypt’s clash with Russia at World Cup 2018.

The 25-year-old forward took the Premier League by storm in 2017-18, sweeping to the Golden Boot as a 44-goal haul also helped the Reds to the Champions League final.

An unfortunate injury suffered in that fixture prevented Salah from making his mark in Egypt’s World Cup opening-game defeat to Uruguay, but he has been declared fit to lead his country against the hosts on Tuesday.

He will be the man the Pharaohs look to for inspiration, but former Russia international Cheryshev doubts that a man sparking Ballon d’Or talk will be the same player for his country as he is at club level.

Cheryshev said in KingFut: “He is an exceptional player, but [he is] not a world-class football star who can compete for the [World Cup] Golden Boot.

“Right now [the contenders for the award] are Ronaldo, Messi, Neymar and maybe [Harry] Kane.

“Liverpool uses Salah properly, here, in the Egyptian national team, things will be different.”

Cheryshev’s son, former Real Madrid midfielder Denis, will be hoping to line up against Salah in midweek after stepping off the bench to bag a brace in a 5-0 mauling of Saudi Arabia.

He will be in confident mood if called upon, with Russia having defied expectations in their opening outing to lift the spirits of a nation desperate for home success.

Cheryshev added: “The team is getting ready for Egypt.

“I played against [Egypt head coach Hector] Cuper’s teams before, he is the most tactical coach, you never know how to approach his teams. Any chance we might have we should use [in that match].”

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Sports

Ndidi, Iheanacho, Daka suffer relegation with Leicester City

Published

10 hours ago

May 29, 2023

Akanimoh Etim

The three African players at Leicester City, Nigerian internationals, Wilfred Ndidi and Kelechi Iheanacho, as well as Zambian striker, Patson Daka, will have to contend with Championship football next season as Leicester was relegated from the English Premier League on Sunday.

Despite defeating West Ham 2-1 in the final game of the season, Leicester were relegated following Everton’s 1-0 win against Bournemouth.

Iheanacho grabbed an assist in the West Ham win but it was not enough to stop Leicester City from being relegated from the Premier League.

While Ndidi and Daka were missing from the game through injury, Iheanacho started and played 77 minutes, providing an assist for Harvey Barnes’ opening goal in the eventual 2-1 win.

His assist and the eventual win for Leicester on the final day were not enough to rescue their season however, as Everton’s 1-0 win over Bournemouth ensured that they finished above Leicester in the final non-relegation place in the league.

If they remain with the team next season, the African trio will face the ignominy of playing in the lower cader of English football.

Sports

History made as Al Ahly wins BAL 2023 at first attempt

Published

2 days ago

May 28, 2023

Akanimoh Etim

Al Ahly Basketball Club of Egypt has written its name in the annals of history after it was crowned champions of the 2023 Basketball Africa League on Saturday, in its first attempt.

The Cairo giants defeated Senegal’s AS Douanes in the finals played at the BK Arena in Kigali, Rwanda, 80-65 to win the 2023 BAL title.

The win marked Al Ahly’s first-ever appearance in the BAL finals in their first-ever appearance in the competition, similar to their opponents, AS Douanes of Senegal

Al Ahly which entered the Nile Conference of the BAL as Egypt 2022 Egyptian Super League champions, started the competition with a bang as they won four out of the five games to reach the playoffs.

The Reds went on to beat hosts REG and Malian giants stade malien to reach the playoffs finals which was for the third consecutive season.

In the finals proper, Al Ahly waited for the third quarter to inflict a final blow to beat AS Douanes 80-65 to win the BAL title after a low scoring first half that saw Al Ahly heading to the locker room with slim 38-33 lead.

Star man, Nuni Omot led the way for Al Ahly, finishing with a game-high 22 points, with Corey Webster adding 13 points off the bench.

Omot was named the 2023 Hakeem Olajuwon BAL MVP award winner, as Al Ahly became the second Egyptian side to win the tournament since Zamalek won the inaugural BAL season.