Mo Salah’s star power brings red sea to Vancouver for Egypt-New Zealand World Cup matchup

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 Vancouver.

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.

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But as Egypt chased 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.”

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.”

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 or two.

“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