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Premier League legends Ian Wright and Roy Keane have lamented over Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah’s absence from the upcoming World Cup. Wright claimed that it was tough to qualify out of CAF while Keane backed Egypt to bounce back from their penalty shootout exit against Senegal.
Salah, who tasted defeat to teammate Sadio Mane’s Senegal in the AFCON final in January, endured another nightmare on Tuesday night. In a do-or-die World Cup qualifier, Egypt and Senegal once again went head-to-head. Senegal won the match 1-0, but Egypt’s first-leg victory meant the tie was level on aggregate.
The game was ultimately settled on penalties, with Senegal emerging on top after Mane successfully put away his decisive spot-kick. Bombarded with lasers on his face, Salah blazed his spot-kick over the bar for Egypt, setting the tone for the shootout. Following the defeat, the 29-year-old will be a no-show at the World Cup in Qatar, something that both Wright and Keane regretted.
On BBC Sport (via HITC), Wright said:
“The CAF (Confederation of African Football), it’s very tough to qualify out of. You have 54 countries and five spots. You are going to miss out on a Salah at a World Cup. You feel for him, but at the same time, you have to win your games.”
“He missed his penalty and I am hearing a lot of stuff about how he missed it (referencing to the lasers aimed at his face). But the fact is that it’s tough. No Nigeria. No Egypt. It seems very tough on the African nations.”
Keane did not talk about the Liverpool star’s miss and only backed the teams that missed out on World Cup qualification to come back stronger. The Manchester United legend added:
“It’s tough going. Not every team can qualify for it, unfortunately. I am sure they will bounce back. There are going to be some brilliant players missing from that World Cup. But that’s just the nature of the beast, so that’s tough going.”
Since his debut in 2011, Salah has played 82 games for Egypt, recording 45 goals and 25 assists.
Mo Salah was not at his best in 2022 World Cup qualifiers for Egypt
The World Cup gives viewers the opportunity to watch their favorite stars give their all for their respective countries. Seeing the Premier League’s leading goalscorer (20 goals) miss out on the tournament is certainly a big blow for Salah fans. Egyptian fans, too, would feel hard done by Tuesday’s outcome, as they were in a decent position (1-0 lead) heading into the second leg.
Unfortunately, their no. 10 could not quite live up to the hype last night — a trend that persisted over the course of the qualifiers. The 29-year-old did not score even once in seven CAF qualifiers, which is disappointing for a player aspiring to win the Ballon d’Or.
Salah will now return to action with Liverpool, where the Reds are chasing an unprecedented quadruple. The Anfield side has already won the Carabao Cup this season and are in contention to win the Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup as well.
