Egypt's defender Ahmed Hegazi celebrates with his teammates after scoring the first goal against eSwatini (Photo: EFA official Facebook page)
The Egyptian Football Association (EFA) said on Tuesday that the national team's friendly against the United Arab Emirates was called off due to "technical reasons", stressing that it has the "utmost respect" for its Emirati counterpart.
The Pharaohs were scheduled to face UAE in a friendly on 20 November, four days after their Nations Cup qualifier against Tunisia, but the EFA announced earlier this week that the match was cancelled.
Reports said the EFA originally agreed with its UAE counterpart to field full-strength sides in the friendly but that Liverpool star Mohamed Salah informed them that he might not be able to play.
"The Egyptian Football Association was forced to cancel the UAE friendly because the foreign-based players have to join their respective clubs before the 21st of November," read a statement on the EFA's official website on Tuesday.
"Many Ahly players who were called-up for the game will not be able to play after picking up injuries.
"The Egypt's U-23 team also has a game against Algeria on the 19th of November so their players won't be available for selection for the first team.
"The EFA has no option but to cancel the game because the target to play with the team's full squad won't be fulfilled," the statement added.
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