CAPE TOWN: Mohamed Salah underpinned his value to Egypt’s cause with two sublime goals on Wednesday as they qualified for the World Cup, but his international career has had none of the success of his achievements at club level.
Salah first cleverly toe-poked the ball home with his left foot, ahead of the on-rushing goalkeeper, to increase Egypt’s lead early in their qualifier against Djibouti, and then added the third in a 3-0 win with a masterful volleyed lob.
Egypt had only needed a point to win their group and book their place at next year’s finals in North America and were always expected to win against the small Red Sea state.
It means an opportunity for the 33-year-old Salah to play at a second World Cup for a team who have not won a trophy during his 14-year international career.
World Cup success might be a stretch for Egypt, but qualification for next June’s finals will add to their already high hopes when they go to the Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco from December 21-January 18.
SALAH’S FIFTH CUP OF NATIONS
It will be a fifth Cup of Nations for Salah and possibly his last chance for a major title with Egypt, who last won the continental crown in 2010, the year before he debuted for the Pharaohs.
Salah was in the side that lost in the 2017 final to Cameroon and again in the 2022 final to Senegal.
His best chance was arguably when Egypt hosted the tournament in 2019, but they crashed out in the round of 16, a fate that befell them again at the last edition in the Ivory Coast, where Salah played two matches before suffering a hamstring injury.
At the 2018 World Cup in Russia, he scored both Egypt’s goals, but they lost all three group matches and were among the early eliminations. For the last finals, Salah missed a penalty in a losing shootout with Senegal to determine a place at Qatar 2022.
OFFICIALS INTIMIDATED BY SALAH’S STATUS
Salah has at times had a tempestuous relationship with the national team, feeling they are often intimidated by his hero-like status in Egypt and therefore antagonistic toward him. But he insists he does not push his weight around.
“So, when I come to tell you something, you have to know that I’m telling you just because I want to be happy...to do something more for the national team,” he told CNN in a previous interview.
“It’s not just that I’m telling you because I’m showing you that I’m powerful. I’m not powerful there. And believe me, if I’m powerful there, I could have changed a lot of things.”
Salah has scored 61 goals in 106 appearances for Egypt, but his trophy cabinet only has silverware from his exploits with Liverpool in the Champions League and Premier League.
This, he will be desperate to change in the limited time he has left with the national team.
