FRANCEVILLE, GABON – Egypt star Mohamed Salah arrived in Gabon to join the Pharaohs for their World Cup qualifying match, the Egyptian soccer association said on Saturday.
The association said in a brief statement that Liverpool’s Salah has joined the Egyptian team in preparing for Sunday’s game against Gabon in Franceville.
The 29-year-old Salah missed the Pharaohs´ 1-0 win over Angola on Sept. 1 in Cairo after Liverpool refused to release him because of coronavirus restrictions. Arsenal midfielder Mohamed el-Neny also missed the game against Angola.
Egypt is among countries on Britain´s coronavirus “red list,” so the two players would have been required to quarantine upon their return from Cairo and miss two Premier League games each.
El-Neny did not travel to Franceville and will miss the game against Gabon because of a muscle injury sustained during training Thursday, the association said in a separate statement.
Salah was the first Egyptian player to become a Premier League champion after joining Liverpool in 2018 from Roma. Liverpool is seeking to strike a new deal to keep Salah with the club.
The Egyptian, who has twice won the Premier League´s Golden Boot award, tested positive for the virus during a visit to Cairo in November, where he attended his brother´s wedding. At the time, he was to join the national team for its game against Togo.
The Pharaohs are placed in Group F of the CAF World Cup qualification alongside Angola, Libya, and Gabon, with only the winning group reaching the next stage.
The winning group will reach the final stage of the qualifications alongside other 9 group winners. They will compete in five knockout matches to decide the five nations that will represent Africa in the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Elsewhere, Heavyweight nations will battle for dominance in Africa’s 2022 World Cup Qualifying tournament, as Matchday 2 of the group stage sees 20 fixtures played across the continent from Sunday to Tuesday.
The pick of matches is definitely Monday night’s meeting of Ivory Coast and Cameroon in Abidjan, with the Elephants needing to make up ground after they opened their Group D account with a 0-0 draw in Mozambique, while the Indomitable Lions started with a 2-0 victory over Malawi on Friday night.
Sunday opens with an East Africa derby between Rwanda and Kenya in Kigali, followed by Togo hosting Namibia in Lome, before the night kick-off sees Egypt head to Franceville to take on Gabon – with Pharaohs coach Hossam el-Badry hoping for a better performance compared to their disjointed 1-0 win over Angola last midweek.
“The first match is always difficult, and we didn’t even have time to prepare, except tactically. The players were also very tired,” said El Badry. “We are not satisfied with the performance, of course, but we are still at the beginning.”
Monday, aside from the heavyweight clash of Ivory Coast and Cameroon, also sees Group E leaders Mali looking to take a strangelhold on top spot by winning in Entebbe against Uganda, a key Group I clash between Guinea and Morocco in Conakry, while South Africa will look to claim the scalp of Ghana when the Black Stars head to ‘Soccer City’ in Soweto.
Bafana Bafana opened their Group G campaign with a 0-0 draw away to neighbours Zimbabwe, with new coach Hugo Broos hoping his team can sharpen up in the final third.
“First of all I was happy with the mentality. It was good. Defensively, I think it was alright also. We didn’t give many chances to Zimbabwe and the defence was there. I am happy about that. But on the other side you have to score also to win games and today was not so good offensively. I think we have to work on that in the next weeks and months because you have to score to win,” said the Belgian.
Tuesday will be the busiest day of this international window, with no less than 10 matches across. Highlights include former African champions Zambia and Tunisia meeting in Ndola, Senegal tackling Congo in Brazzaville, and Nigeria away to the Cape Verde Islands.
“From a heavy grass to a very dry synthetic pitch, we have to show our solidarity and manage this position,” said Super Eagles coach Gernot Rohr after a 2-0 home win over Liberia on Friday.
Tuesday also sees Burkina Faso ‘host’ Algeria meet in Marrakesh, with the pair battling for control at the top of Group A after winning their openers against Niger and Djibouti respectively.
“All adversaries must be respected,” explained Algeria coach Djamel Belmadi. “This [8-0 win over Djibouti] is the best way to prepare for the match against Burkina Faso, which is more difficult to play.”
