Лебединое озеро

In the end, even the mighty Mohamed Salah could not shake Egypt free from its World Cup hex.
Salah, the Liverpool star whose damaged shoulder had become the world’s most obsessed-over body part, had the unenviable task on Tuesday of trying to halt the momentum of a surging Russian team in his first game since he was injured in the Champions League final last month.

That proved too much to ask, even for the Premier League’s leading goal-scorer this past season. Russia, which entered this tournament off a series of uninspiring results, was certainly not seen as an offensive juggernaut. But through its first two World Cup matches, Russia has outscored its opponents by 8-1, leaving Salah as its most prominent victim and all but ensuring a berth in the knockout round.

“We did our homework; we learned from our mistakes,” Russia Manager Stanislav Cherchesov said after the 3-1 victory.

On Tuesday, Russia notched three goals in the first 16 minutes of the second half, with an own goal starting the flurry that crushed the Pharoahs’ spirit and likely made millions of Egyptians wonder whether the World Cup and their national team will ever get in harmony.

Egypt has won seven continental championships, including three straight in 2006, 2008 and 2010, but is appearing in just its third World Cup. And this year’s journey started to seriously unwind two minutes into the second half, when Egypt’s captain, Ahmed Fathi, had a Russian cross deflect off his foot and scoot past the helpless Egyptian goalkeeper, Mohamed El-Shenawy, for the first goal of the game.

Denis Cheryshev scored the game-winning goal for Russia against Egypt, all but guaranteeing Russia a trip to the knockout round and Egypt a trip home.

Twelve minutes later, Russian midfielder Denis Cheryshev, who scored twice in Russia’s 5-0 rout of Saudi Arabia in the World Cup opener, sent the crowd of 64,000 — and the rest of Russia — into a frenzy with his third goal of the tournament.