Mohamed Salah's relationship with the crowd inside Cairo International Stadium is intense enough to transcend description. Nowhere in the world does an arena hang on a single player's every action quite like this. It told that Egypt's icon had risen to the occasion and suggested this Africa Cup of Nations might, too. Yet the sense of privilege, that feeling of fuzzy warmth simply to be watching, paled quickly. Perhaps someone had finally seen a modicum of sense; whatever the truth, it emphasised that a manageable situation has become a mess.

Source: Irish Independent June 30, 2019 01:52 UTC