Some Senegalese fans give Egyptian skipper Salah harsh welcome upon arriving in Dakar

Ahmed Abd El Rasoul , Monday 28 Mar 2022

Pharaoh’s skipper Mohamed Salah was greeted with a barrage of boos and expletives by a small group of Senegalese fans upon the Egyptian national team’s arrival to Blaise Diagne Airport earlier on Monday.

Egypt s Mohamed Salah
Egypt s Mohamed Salah listens to the national anthem during a qualifying soccer match against Senegal for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 at Cairo International stadium in Cairo, Egypt, Friday, March 25, 2022. AP

A widely circulated video on social media showed a small group of reportedly Senegalese fans booing and using explicit language as the 29-year-old Egyptian star made his exit from the airport under tight security measures, with the same group also cheering for their national team’s star — and Salah's teammate at Liverpool — Sadio Mane.

Senegal is set to host Egypt at Stade Olympique de Diamniadio in Dakar on Tuesday in the decisive second leg of the 2022 African World Cup qualifiers.

The Pharaohs claim a narrow advantage over the Lions of Teranga with a 1-0 win in the first leg that was held in Cairo on Friday thanks to an own goal from Saliou Ciss as a clear shot by Salah ricocheted off the crossbar.

Egypt only needs a draw with Senegal in Dakar tomorrow to book a flight to Doha.

The Pharaohs and Lions of Teranga are bidding to secure a place in the 2022 FIFA World Cup that will take place in Qatar from 21 November to 18 December, as both teams eye a second successive World Cup appearance.

Senegal reached the FIFA World Cup twice — in 2002 and 2018 — while Egypt made it to the prestigious tournament three times — in 1934, 1990, and 2018.

Senegal — led by Mane — beat Egypt — led by Salah — in the final of the African Cup of Nations in Cameroon in February on penalties, claiming their first ever continental tile.

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