Salah and Messi: two legends, two nations' hopes ahead of World Cup last-16 clash

Mohamed Salah and Lionel Messi are set to meet in the World Cup last-16 on Tuesday, with Egypt and Argentina's tournament hopes resting on the two superstars. The piece contrasts how each player is perceived at home: Salah as a symbol of national pride and social progress in Egypt, while Messi carries the weight of Argentina's decades-long wait for a World Cup. It is a match framed as a personal duel between two of the sport's greatest.