The Egyptian national team striker, Mohamed Salah, and the star of the Liverpool team, sent a “vague” message to his colleagues following the failure of the “Pharaohs” to qualify for the World Cup finals “Qatar 2022”.
The Egyptian team failed to reach the World Cup in Qatar, following losing to its Senegalese counterpart 3-1 on penalties in the match that took place yesterday evening, Tuesday, at Diaminiadio Stadium, within the second leg of the qualifying round for the African qualifiers.
And the official page of the Egyptian Ministry of Youth and Sports published on Facebook a video clip of a session held by Minister Dr. Ashraf Sobhi with the players of the Egyptian national team following the loss once morest Senegal, which included a speech by Salah.
In his speech to his colleagues, Salah confirmed his pride in playing with this generation of players, explaining that the Egyptian team lost the ticket to qualify for the World Cup by penalty shootout, “which is something that no one can interfere in,” he said.
The Liverpool star said: “I played for a while with the previous generation led by Mohamed Aboutrika and Wael Gomaa, and I also played with the next generation with distinguished players like Abdullah Al-Saeed.”
Salah added: “There is not much to say, but in fact I had the honor to play with the current generation.”
Salah tried to complete his speech and said: “Whether you are present or not…” The Minister of Sports interrupted him, stressing that “everyone continues and there are challenges ahead.”
And he added: “Captain Muhammad is the decree of God and what he wills he does.”
With this incomplete sentence, Salah raised the controversy regarding the possibility of contemplating international retirement following the failure of his country to reach the World Cup finals.
But the Egyptian Football Association said – to Egyptian press sites – that Mohamed Salah has not yet informed them of his decision to apologize or retire from international football, as some interpreted from his video interview during the meeting of the Egyptian Minister of Sports with the national team players following the Senegal match.
The source of the Football Association explained that no one knows what Salah meant, pointing out that the sadness of defeat and not qualifying for the World Cup is certain, especially since the conversation was immediately following the match in the locker room.
The source indicated that Salah, in all cases, the captain of the team and the Football Association fully adheres to his role, and no one holds him responsible for what happened, stressing that the bet is still placed on him and the rest of his colleagues for what is to come.