Ghana FA's technical director Winfried Schäfer. Photo: Schäfer's official Instagram account.
Schafer said that Egypt’s chances rest heavily on the influence of Liverpool forward Salah, whom he described as capable of carrying a team through decisive moments.
“Egypt have a chance to win the Africa Cup of Nations because of Mohamed Salah. He is like Messi and can lead the team to victory,” Schafer said. “When he leads the team to win matches, his teammates will also rise with him.”
Schafer, however, named hosts Morocco as the leading contenders for the title, citing their strong showing at the 2022 World Cup. “Morocco are the top favourites to win the African title because they are hosting the tournament and after the great version they presented at the World Cup,” he added.
Drawing parallels with Argentina’s success in Qatar, Schafer said collective belief around a talismanic player can be decisive. “Why did Argentina win the World Cup? Because everyone played for Messi. He either provided the assist or scored the goal,” he noted.
Egypt have been drawn in Group B of the 2025 finals alongside South Africa, Zimbabwe and Angola.
Schäfer also addressed Salah’s situation at Liverpool, dismissing suggestions that the Egypt captain is a problem at the Premier League club. “Salah is not the problem at Liverpool; he is the club’s hero,” he said. “It is the coach’s role to communicate clearly with his player about selection. You cannot simply tell him he will not play without explaining the reasons. For me, the issue lies with the coach.”
On his current role, Schäfer said he joined the Ghana Football Association as technical director at the start of 2025 following the Black Stars’ failure to qualify for AFCON 2025. He works alongside head coach Otto Addo and expressed satisfaction at securing qualification for the 2026 World Cup.
“We have great players in Ghana, most of them professionals in Europe,” Schäfer said. “Mohammed Kudus is a very talented player, among many others. My role is to help Otto build the national team, and we will do that together.”
Ghana will miss the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco after finishing bottom of their qualifying group behind Angola, Sudan and Niger, but they have already booked their place at the 2026 World Cup.
(For more sports news and updates, follow Ahram Online Sports on Twitter at @AO_Sports and on Facebook at AhramOnlineSports.)
Short link: