Salah 'Returns to Liverpool Disgrace' Furious At Egypt National Team Criticism

Mohamed Salah 31 has defended his Egyptian teammates, who are criticized for their poor performance.

Britain's "The Athletic" reported on the 23rd that "Salah covered the Egyptian national team's sluggish performance as its experts poured criticism into it."

According to the media, Salah said, "It doesn't matter that I'm with or without the national team. The presence or absence of my presence does not put pressure on the players. It is not essential that I play with my teammates." He added, "Any soccer player can be replaced. If I play together my teammates' performance can improve, but even if I don't, I can't have a negative impact."

On the criticism that the national team's performance has deteriorated since Salah's injury, he said, "I enjoyed the criticism of the experts. If we lose or if the game is bad, people will be critical. But I trust the Egyptian team and my teammates. Our team will continue to improve." "As the captain of Egypt, I hope the public will be more generous and accept that even if the result is not the same as expected, my teammates are playing their best."

The Egyptian team failed to secure even a single win at the 2023 Africa Football Confederation CAF Nations Cup until the first and third group matches of Group B. However, it advanced to the round of 16 tournaments as the second-ranked team in its group after Cape Verde, the first-ranked team with three lucky draws three points with two wins and one draw with seven points. Ghana and Mozambique each dropped to two draws and one loss with two points.

Salah scored one goal and one assist in the first group match against Mozambique, and was named the man of the match MOM. Egypt led the match with Mustafa Mohammed's first goal after Salah's assist just two minutes in the first half, but it lost two goals in a row in the second half. However, just before the match ended, Salah scored a dramatic penalty kick and finished the match 2-2.

Egypt, which barely drew its first match, became more hopeless in the second match against Ghana. This is because Salah was suddenly replaced in the extra time of the first half when he was trailing 0-1. After examining Salah's physical condition, the Egyptian coach called him in as he judged that he could no longer play.

After Salah's injury, Egypt tied Cape Verde 2-2 in the final group match of the tournament after a "theater show" in which it exchanged one goal each in the extra time in the second half. Egypt managed to advance to the round of 16 with three final draws three points and second place in the group stage.

Egypt allowed Gilsson Tavares to score the first goal in the extra time of the first half and then scored the equalizer in the first five minutes of the second half. In a corner kick situation, Trezeguet approached the goal with a 2-1 pass with Ahmed Hegazi and finished with a shot.

The theater show opened from extra time in the second half. In the third minute of extra time in the second half, Mustafa Mohammed scored a come-from-behind goal for Egypt. The game seemed to end as it was. However, Cape Verde ended the game 2-2 with Brian Teixeira scoring the equalizer again in the ninth minute of extra time in the second half.

Immediately after the match, Egypt failed to advance to the round of 16 by itself, but it advanced to the round of 16 as Mozambique and Ghana tied 2-2 at the same time. The match was more dramatic. After trailing 0-2 until extra time in the second half, Mozambique dramatically scored two goals to draw a draw. The two teams lost two draws and one game each, and Egypt advanced to the round of 16.

Salah's injury was worse than expected after watching the game on the field. Initially, British media reported that he would miss about two games, saying that he had a hamstring injury. However, the accurate test results showed that he had to recover and rehabilitate for more than a month.

Salah has decided to return to the U.K. for treatment. The plan was to rejoin the Egyptian national team by focusing on treatment and then recovering. The Egyptian Football Association EFA said on its official channel on the previous day, "Salah is returning to England. After checking the medical staff, we have confirmed that Salah will not be able to play for a while." "If Egypt advances to the tournament, Salah will play for the national team again," he said.

However, it is questionable whether Salah will be able to return to the national team and play in the Nations Cup. Fabrizio Romano, a transfer market expert and fluent in European soccer, updated the news on Salah's injury on Sunday. According to Romano, Salah's agent Ramy Abbas announced that "Salah's injury is more serious than expected." "Salah is expected to be absent for about 21 to 28 days three to four weeks," he said. "The best way to play again in the Nations Cup is to focus on rehabilitation in England," he added. "If he gets better, he can rejoin the Egyptian national team."

It was like a bolt out of the blue not only for Egypt but also for Liverpool. At a press conference after the match against Bournemouth in the 21st round of the English Premier League on Tuesday, Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp said that Salah is committed to treatment and rehabilitation with the help of his team's medical staff. "I don't know how Salah was shocked during the injury process, but there was definitely a big problem."

Coach Klopp also mentioned that he could return to the Egyptian national team, predicting Salah's recovery time as the Africa Cup of Nations final. However, the Africa Cup of Nations final on February 11 is less than three weeks away. It is questionable whether Salah, who has to concentrate on recovery for up to a month, will be able to play in the final. Moreover, it is difficult to guarantee that Egypt, which has not won a single game in the group stage, will advance to the final from the round of 16 tournament.

Salah is determined to recover and return to the Egyptian national team before the event. According to the BBC, Salah said, "We have to win the Nations Cup. I have strong faith in Egypt to win the title. I have achieved whatever I wanted in my soccer career. The winner of this tournament has not been decided yet. If you are an Egyptian, if you are an African soccer player, you will understand what winning the Africa Cup of Nations means."

He also had a unique sense of duty to play for the Egyptian national team. "Egyptian players are motivated to rise to the top. If you run hard and crave for it, everything is possible," Salah said.

There is a reason why Salah craves the trophy in this tournament. He lifted the English Premier League EPL and the European Champions League UEFA Champions League UCL, but he never won the title in the Egyptian national team. He was the runner-up in both the 2017 and 2022 African Cup of Nations. In particular, he reached the final and met Senegal in the previous tournament, but lost after a penalty shootout and lost the championship cup. At that time, his Liverpool teammate Sadio Mane came out as the last kicker and scored a goal to decide the match, and Salah, who was preparing as the fifth kicker, watched the defeat without even kicking a penalty kick.

Then, ironically, Egypt and Senegal met again in the final African qualifying round for the 2022 Qatar World Cup. Senegal also won and advanced to the World Cup, while Egypt fell. "I won twice and Salah lost twice. It's just that I was luckier," Manet said at the time in his match with his teammate Salah. "I am proud to win the African Cup of Nations and play in the World Cup. It was a tough game for both Salah and I. We had to fight and we didn't stop fighting. I knew the game wasn't going to be easy and I didn't give up."

In that year, Salah won the EPL scoring title but also lost the African male player of the year to Mane. Salah was ahead in the individual record, but it was painful to miss the African Cup of Nations. This is why Salah desperately needs to win the African Cup of Nations.

Liverpool also has a headache because of Salah who returned after recovering from injury. With 14 goals eight assists in the EPL, Salah is ranking first in scoring goals along with Elling Holland, a "scoring machine" in the league. Liverpool is also leading the league with 14 wins, six draws and one loss 48 points, thanks to Salah's strong performance. However, no one can be certain as Manchester City ranking second, Arsenal standing third, and Aston Villa ranking fourth 43 points are closely trailing them. Notably, Manchester City will play one less game, allowing it to trail Liverpool with two points depending on the outcome of the game.

Salah's loyalty to Liverpool is also great. He stayed in Liverpool last summer, refusing to pay huge amount of money to Saudi Arabia's Al-Itihad. Al-Itihad offered 150 million pounds for the transfer, and when Salah and Liverpool remained silent, the transfer was cancelled by raising the offer to 215 million pounds. Liverpool fans waited anxiously for the transfer window to end, and as Salah continued to play for the team, they cheered.

Salah's contract with Liverpool will end in June next year. Liverpool is seeking to extend his one-year contract with Salah, and Salah wants a long-term contract, although he is positive about staying at Liverpool. The variable is R-Itihad. R-Itihad, who constantly wants to recruit Salah, is again approaching Salah by using massive transfer fees. According to the BBC, R-Itihad plans to offer Salah 2.5 million pounds about 4.2 billion won a week.

Jamie Carragher, a native of Liverpool, predicted that Salah, who recently turned 31, would maintain his best performance in the EPL. According to the BBC, Salah said, "I expect him to play until his late 30s like Cristiano Ronaldo. He can play at the highest level for the next three to four years," hoping to stay in Liverpool.

If Salah is absent for up to a month, Liverpool will have to play six more matches without Salah. Liverpool will play the second leg of the semi-final of the English League Cup EFL Cup against Fulham on the 25th. It will meet Norwich City at the FA Cup on the 28th. Afterwards, matches with difficult teams in the EPL are awaited. They will face Chelsea on February 1 and Arsenal on February 5, ranking third in the league. They will meet Burnley on the 11th. Not only the Egyptian national team but also Liverpool paid full attention to Salah's recovery. 스포츠토토