Mo Salah's Egypt denied entry to US city after New Zealand World Cup match as statement issued

Mohamed Salah and his Egypt team-mates have been denied entry to a World Cup host city just hours after securing the nation's first-ever World Cup win.

Egypt beat New Zealand 3-1 in Vancouver on June 22, with strikes from Mostafa Ziko, Salah and Mahmoud Trezeguet cancelling out Finn Surman's early opener.

The victory, Egypt's first-ever World Cup win, saw the North African side move top of Group G, having drawn 1-1 with Belgium earlier in the tournament.

Footage of Salah and his team-mates celebrating with Egyptian fans on the streets of the Canadian city surfaced after the game, but their post-match plans soon took a negative turn.

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Egypt had planned to fly directly from Vancouver to the US city of Seattle after their victory. However, their request was denied by local security officials, resulting in the seven-time African champions having to return to their training base in Spokane, Washington.

Egyptian FA issue statement

In a statement released by the Egypt FA, national team boss Hossam Hassan said: "The security authorities refused the team's request to stay in the city of Seattle as planned after the New Zealand match in the World Cup, and therefore the team's delegation will return to the city of Spokane.

"The team had wanted to travel directly to Seattle to spare the players travel fatigue due to the numerous journeys in preparation for the Iran match on 26 June, but following the security decision, the Egypt national team delegation will return to Spokane."

Egypt return to action against Iran on June 27 and wanted to stay in Seattle to avoid lengthy travel commitments, as the game is set to take place in the city.

Instead, they may now be forced to take a one-hour-and-20-minute flight from Spokane to Seattle ahead of the fixture.

Of course, Iran have also been affected by travel issues, with the Middle Eastern side forced to train in Tijuana, Mexico, despite all three of their group matches taking place in the US.

Following their hard-fought 0-0 draw against Belgium on Sunday (June 21), the side immediately flew back to their training base.

Iran's head coach, Ardeshir Ghalenoei, has already voiced his frustration at the less-than-ideal travel arrangements, claiming his team had just 16 hours to prepare and train before their match against Belgium.

"We only managed to train half the time we usually spend training," he said.

"We wanted to have optimal physical and technical preparation.”

"For the third game, they've allowed us to make our own decisions with regard to travel planning," he added. "But my problem is, why didn't they let us come earlier for the first two games as well?

"If they've managed to do this now, why didn't they do that for our first game and for this game?"

Egypt currently lead Group G on four points, with Iran and Belgium in second and third on two points, while New Zealand sit fourth with one point.

A draw could be enough to see Egypt progress to the Round of 32, although a win would guarantee their place in the next round.