Red Sea rivals Saudi Arabia and Egypt will look to end their World Cup journey on a high by earning their first and final victory of the 2018 tournament.

Both The Green Falcons and The Pharaohs lost their two opening group games against Russia and Uruguay – bringing their stay in Europe to an abrupt end.

However, while the two sides prepare to be on the first plane home, a meeting in Volgograd with the two rivals presents plenty of reasons for it to be an entertaining and competitive affair.

Two countries separated by the Red Sea

With Saudi Arabia still searching for their first World Cup win since 1994 - when they reached famously the knockout stage – perhaps a meeting against their Red Sea rivals adds some extra incentive – if they needed it.

A victory for Juan Antonio Pizzi’s men might soon see them head back to Asia as heroes should they end their 26-year wait and defeat an Egypt side who themselves, have not won on the World stage in six attempts.

History is on the Saudis side too, with pairs last competitive meeting in the 1999 Confederations Cup delivering a 5-1 win for The Green Falcons in a heated encounter which seen Egypt receive three red cards.

That said, Pizzi’s men are yet to find the net so far in this tournament but can take confidence from their better share of possession in their narrow 1-0 defeat to Uruguay on Wednesday.

Sentimental value

Unlike Saudi, many had tipped Héctor Cúper's side to qualify for the knockout stage with Mohamed Salah at their disposal.

The 26-year-old sat out of The Pharaohs’ late opening defeat to Uruguay however was unable to prevent their tournament exit when he returned to score a consolation goal from the penalty spot in the 3-1 defeat to Russia.

It was clear the shoulder injury picked up in the Champions League final – which almost ruled him out of the World Cup all-together – was still troubling him resulting in Egypt suffering.

Fans from across the World – in particular, those in England – would no doubt love to see a Salah masterclass to cap off his remarkable campaign in which he fired 44 goals for Liverpool.

However, while Salah is the most likely to grab the headlines, the day could belong to Egypt goalkeeper Essam El-Hadary.

The 45-year-old could become the oldest player ever to compete at the World Cup should be selected ahead of Mohamed El-Shenawy.