Hossam Hassan says Mohamed Salah missed Egypt’s 5-0 win over South Sudan for personal reasons

Egypt manager Hossam Hassan has said captain Mohamed Salah was absent from Tuesday’s 5-0 victory over South Sudan because of “personal reasons”.

The result came in the second round of qualifying for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations, after Egypt were held to a goalless draw by Angola in their opening match.

The Egyptian Football Association had previously announced that Salah would miss the South Sudan game because of the artificial-turf playing surface.

However, speaking at his post-match news conference, Hassan gave a different explanation.

“Salah missed the match for personal reasons,” he said.

“Mohamed Salah is a very important player for us. The whole national team was going through difficult circumstances in the Angola match, and things would have been different if we had had a longer preparation period.”

Hassan insisted Egypt could not be reliant on one individual, despite Salah’s importance to the side.

“I do not want to offer excuses or justifications, but Egypt’s national team does not depend on one person,” he said. “All the players are important. A country of 120 million people cannot have a national team that depends on one player.”

He added: “My duty is to work with the committed players who are available, in order to build a strong core for Egypt’s national team.”

Hassan also addressed the way his comments are sometimes interpreted, saying he wanted to be careful with his words.

“I try to choose my words carefully. I speak with good intentions, but some words are misunderstood,” he said.

The manager said Egypt’s performance in the draw with Angola had been affected by the players’ lack of preparation, particularly because the Egyptian league had only just begun.

“The players were not sufficiently ready, especially with the start of the Egyptian league, but our performance was not bad,” Hassan said.

He described the victory over South Sudan as a difficult result to achieve, citing the conditions in which the match was played.

“The South Sudan match was difficult. The pitch and the weather affected us, but we showed our strength and controlled the game,” he said. “The victory reflects our work.”

Hassan concluded by saying he accepted criticism and was accustomed to working under pressure, but did not intend to respond to his critics.

“I always respect criticism, and I am used to the pressure, but I do not respond to anyone,” he said. “We have to give our maximum effort to make the entire Egyptian people happy.”