File photo: Mohamed Salah
The 31-year-old winger was called up by Portuguese coach Rui Vitoria to join the Egypt squad alongside foreign-based players including Eintracht Frankfurt winger Omar Marmoush, who is expected to join the camp later today, alongside Arsenal midfielder Mohamed Elneny and Trabzonspor's winger Mahmoud "Trezeguet" Hassan, after they both recovered from their injuries.
Salah was intentionally rested during the match against Ethiopia on September 8th, the final game of the 2023 African Cup of Nations qualifiers, to preserve his energy for the demanding schedule, but joined the squad that lost 3-1 to Tunisia in a friendly on September 12.
The Pharaohs kicked off their camp on Monday with light training in preparations for their friendlies against Zambia on October 12th and Algeria on October 16th. The camp will continue until October 17th.
Egypt will commence its 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign with a match against Djibouti on November 13th, followed by an away fixture against Sierra Leone on November 18th.
Having topped Group D in the qualifiers, accumulating 15 points from six games, alongside second-placed Guinea, the seven-time African champions have already secured their place in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) finals, scheduled to begin on 13 January 2024.
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