Hossam Hassan excludes Mohamed Salah

The Egyptian Football Association announced that Mohamed Salah, the national team captain and Liverpool star, will not participate in Egypt's upcoming match against Cape Verde. Coach Hossam Hassan opted to rest him and not include him in the third-place playoff of the Al Ain International Friendly Tournament, scheduled for Monday evening at the Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium in Al Ain, UAE. The decision to rest Salah came after his participation in the team's 2-0 loss to Uzbekistan in the tournament's semi-final, part of the team's preparations for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco. The absence of Ahmed Mostafa Zizo and Hamdi Fathi due to injury has also been confirmed, while Salah Mohsen is undergoing a recovery program in the hope of being fit for the match. The national team is suffering from a significant number of absences, missing 11 key players, most notably: Mohamed Salah, Mahmoud Trezeguet, Ahmed Mostafa Zizo, Emam Ashour, Ibrahim Adel, Hamdi Fathi, Mostafa Fathi, Mohannad Lasheen, Ahmed Eid, Amr El Gazzar, and Mohamed Abdelmonem. Meanwhile, Manchester City's Omar Marmoush participated in the Pharaohs' training camp after missing the Uzbekistan match due to his engagement party in Aswan. He is expected to lead the attack against Cape Verde. This camp is part of Egypt's preparations for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, where the national team will play in Group B alongside South Africa, Angola, and Zimbabwe. They will begin their campaign against Zimbabwe on December 22 in Agadir.