After a long absence, Mohamed Salah, the captain of the Pharaohs, returns to participate with the Egyptian national team in international friendly matches. Salah's last appearance in friendlies with the Egyptian team was in the summer of 2019, when he scored two goals and led his team to victory over Guinea (3-1) in preparation for the African Cup of Nations held in Cairo that same year.
Salah spent almost a year and a half away from the national team, from June 2019 to March 2021, due to injuries and the COVID-19 pandemic. After that, Salah participated hesitantly in some matches of the African Cup of Nations qualifiers and the World Cup preliminaries, but then missed a friendly match against Liberia in September 2021.
Salah's scoring rates have significantly declined in recent years; following his impressive start with the Pharaohs, the Liverpool star’s celebrations in his national team jersey have decreased. He has only scored two goals so far in 2022 despite playing 10 matches in the African Cup of Nations and World Cup qualifiers.
At times in recent years, Salah preferred to use the international break to catch his breath and take an extra rest, given the tough and overlapping season in England. However, the captain of the Egyptian national team has changed his strategy and refused to rest during the international break, deciding to participate in international friendlies to get to know the new Portuguese coach Rui Vitória and pursue his biggest dream with the Pharaohs.
Mohamed Salah aspires to be remembered by history with pride after retirement. To achieve this in the way he desires, he needs to break the record of Hossam Hassan to become the all-time leading scorer for the Pharaohs. Hossam Hassan scored 69 goals for the Egyptian national team in 178 matches, leading the historic scorers list, while Mohamed Salah closely follows with an impressive scoring rate for his peers in the country, having scored 45 goals in 83 matches. He will have the opportunity to enhance his record this September with matches against Niger and Liberia.
