Yahia Sour, centre, came from Boston with a group of 10 friends and family to see his favourite player, Mo Salah, take the field in Vancouver.Moira Wyton/The Globe and Mail
Yahia Sour can’t remember the very first time he saw Mohamed Salah play in the Premier League, only that as a child, watching the “Egyptian King” reach club soccer’s highest echelon permanently changed how he saw his parents’ home country.
But on Sunday, the Boston teen sporting the Egyptian captain’s jersey was sure to remember his first time seeing Salah play in-person.
“All it takes is one player just like Salah and how he changed the game for Egypt,” 15-year-old Sour said ahead of Egypt’s World Cup match against New Zealand in Vancouver. “He is a great symbol of pride in Egypt and even people who are not Egyptian love him and respect him.”
The arrival of the biggest soccer star to play at the World Cup so far in Canada set Vancouver abuzz on Sunday as a sea of red “M. Salah” jerseys from Team Egypt and his former club Liverpool FC enveloped the streets around BC Place.
A sea of red Liverpool and Egypt jerseys enveloped BC Place on Sunday.Fran Santiago/Getty Images
On Sunday night, Salah garnered the biggest cheers, starting before the kickoff. The roar reached its fever pitch midway through the second half when, in storybook fashion, Salah hammered home the winning strike in the 67th minute to carry Egypt to its first-ever World Cup victory, a 3-1 win over New Zealand. The entire Egypt squad piled onto the field to rejoice.
Salah’s goal, six days after his 34th birthday, was – of course – a sharp left-footed blast, beating two defenders from in close, the ball tucking in close to the far post. A torrent of cheers reverberated throughout BC Place, another full house of more than 52,000, the third straight in three World Cup matches so far in Vancouver.
Salah celebrates his match-winning goal, which secured Egypt's first-ever victory in a World Cup game on Sunday.Fran Santiago/Getty Images
Egypt’s win vaulted it to the top of Group G, following a 1-1 draw in its first match against Belgium. That country, a perennial contender, had been billed before the tournament as the heavy favourite to win the group. New Zealand, among the weakest teams at the World Cup, fell to the bottom of the group. Iran is in second with two draws. Belgium, likewise with two draws, is in third. Belgium plays New Zealand in Vancouver on Friday.
Few players are as beloved both on and off the pitch as 34-year-old Salah, as the deafening cheers for his name in BC Place reconfirmed on Sunday. The English Premier League’s all-time top foreign goal-scorer, Salah’s ascendance has transformed the game in Egypt and inspired a generation of Arab and Muslim youth to pick up the ball.
Players over 40 showing they're not over the hill at the World Cup
But as Egypt secured its first World Cup win and questions swirl about where the midfielder will play next, Pharaohs and Liverpool fans alike descended on Vancouver for the chance to see Salah’s magic up close.
“It’s been really exciting to see him lead our country to the World Cup and on this grand world stage where we all get to see him in person,” said 17-year-old Eliana Awad, who came up with nearly 60 of her close friends and family. “It just makes it even more exciting, like the reality of what he’s accomplished is just really incredible.”
Egypt first played in the World Cup in 1934, where it lost its only match. In 1990, it didn’t make it past the group stage, finishing 20th of 24 countries. In 2018, Salah in his prime brought his country back to soccer’s premier stage but Egypt lost all three of its matches, finishing 31st of 32 countries. Salah scored twice, Egypt’s only two goals. The country didn’t make it to the World Cup in 2022 and this year’s tournament, with its Sunday night win, is its best-ever showing, as Salah increased his career World Cup output to three goals.
Michael George, an Egyptian living in Montreal, had seen Salah play once before, at the Africa Cup of Nations. But in Vancouver, he was particularly excited to see his favourite player on Canadian soil.
“He’s exceptional,” George said ahead of the match. “We never had somebody [who] went to the international level before. … But he was the one who succeeded.”
The Awads came from Seattle to see Salah play in a second World Cup match. From left: Joseph, Joy, Eliana and Tamer.Moira Wyton/The Globe and Mail
Though Ann Klassen was heartbroken when Salah announced his departure from Liverpool last year, she was thrilled to see so much support for him in her adopted home. The Liverpool native moved to Canada 59 years ago, and now lives in North Vancouver, B.C. Her whole family sported Salah jerseys, save for Klassen, who wore a Liverpool 2019-20 EPL champions T-shirt with Salah’s face proudly staring out.
“He is just brilliant, you know? And he’s a lovely person, I like that he’s just as good off the pitch as good as what he does on the pitch,” Klassen said. “I love people who give back, he’s easy to cheer for.”
Many fans are hoping for more chances to cheer on Salah closer to home if his next chapter takes him to MLS.
It was Alexandria-born Amr Soliman’s only wish for his 60th birthday on Sunday – besides an Egypt win and a Salah goal, both of which came true.
“It’d be amazing if he came to Toronto and played for Toronto FC,” said the Ontarian. “That would be like a dream for us.”
With a report from Andrea Woo
Ann Klassen, who was born in Liverpool and lives in North Vancouver, says she converted her whole family to be fans of Salah's former club team. She sported their 2020 EPL champions T-shirt ahead of Sunday's match.Moira Wyton/The Globe and Mail