Salah to Miss South Sudan Clash Over Juba Pitch Concerns
Egypt will travel to Juba without captain Mohamed Salah for Tuesday’s 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against South Sudan after the forward was released from the national team camp.
The Egyptian Football Association confirmed that Salah will not feature in the Group B encounter on 29 September because of concerns over the playing surface at Juba Stadium. The decision was reached after discussions between Salah and the national team’s technical staff.
“The Egypt national team’s technical staff, led by Hossam Hassan, has decided to rest Mohamed Salah for the match against South Sudan scheduled for 29 September because of the playing surface.
“It was agreed between the national team’s technical staff and Mohamed Salah before the Angola match that he would not play against South Sudan, and the technical staff preferred this approach in order to protect the player.” EFA statement read.
Salah featured in Egypt’s opening qualifier against Angola on Friday, with the match ending in a goalless draw in Cairo. He was taken off in the 60th minute, although coach Hossam Hassan later indicated that the substitution was tactical and not because of an injury.
The Liverpool forward will therefore remain in Egypt rather than travel with the squad to South Sudan. Egypt are expected to add another player to the squad to cover for his absence, with Bank Al Ahly forward Osama Faisal reported as a possible replacement.
Egypt currently have one point from their opening Group B match, while South Sudan started their qualifying campaign with a 2-1 defeat to Malawi.
The two teams will meet in Juba on Tuesday as Egypt look for their first win of the qualifying campaign.
The 2027 AFCON tournament will be jointly hosted by Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, with the qualification campaign determining the teams that will join the hosts at the finals.
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