Egypt made a baffling decision to bench its best player in their first match of the World Cup and then lost in the final minute

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Mohamed Salah was set to become one of the stars of the World Cup, but he began Egypt's first match on the bench and would never make an appearance and his country would go on to lose in heartbreaking fashion.

• Egypt lost to Uruguay in heartbreaking fashion on Friday, giving up the game-winning goal in the final minute of the match to lose their World Cup opener, 1-0.
• Egypt played the game without its star player, Mohamed Salah, who suffered an injury in the Champions League final but was considered available for the match, possibly as a second-half substitute.
• The loss left Egypt with no room for error with two games remaining in group play.

The script seemed set for Mohamed Salah to make the World Cup debut of a lifetime.

On his 26th birthday, Salah would lead Egypt into its first World Cup in nearly 30 years and announce his arrival on biggest stage in football.

But it was never meant to be, and Salah had to watch from the bench as his teammates valiantly fought through 89 minutes only to lose in heartbreaking fashion.

Egypt's decision to bench Salah for the biggest game in decades was baffling to supporters excited to see his spark on the pitch, but it was not unfounded.

Salah suffered an injury in the Champions League final in late May, and his status for the World Cup was questionable heading into the tournament. The early word was that Salah would be ready for Egypt's second match of the tournament, but as the start drew nearer there were hopes that he would at least make an appearance in the team's debut, with Andrew Keh of the New York Times saying "the sense is that he will get about 30 minutes as a substitute."

Unfortunately for Egypt, Salah was apparently not ready to go yet, leaving the team to face Uruguay, the toughest team they'll play in the group stage of the tournament, without their star player. Despite their missing offensive centerpiece, the Egyptian side held firm for the entirety of the game, limiting Uruguay's chances and stifling them just as a goal looked like it might be on the horizon.

But in the 89th minute, Uruguay broke through, with José Giménez getting his head on a corner kick to play hero for the dramatic winning goal.

Egypt has two winnable games remaining in the group stage of the tournament, facing off against host nation Russia and wrapping up against Saudi Arabia. If they can win both they'll still be able to advance on to the knockout stage, but it's certainly an uphill battle, especially for a team with the most grueling travel schedule in the tournament.

The world is waiting to see Salah have his moment. Sadly for football fans though, it wasn't meant to be on Friday.