Did Mohamed Salah refuse to be substituted during Egypt’s match against Guinea-Bissau?

EFA’s media section stated the truth behind the rumoured substitution refusal by Mohamed Salah

Egypt faced Guinea-Bissau in one of their World Cup Qualifiers clash at the Estadio 24 de Setembro on Monday, June 10, 2024. However, a rumoured incident from the match involving Mohamed Salah seemed to have grabbed all the headlines. Some of the rumoured reports doing the rounds on social media have hinted towards the Liverpool player refusing to be substituted during the Egypt vs Guinea-Bissau qualifier clash.

However, further, clarifying statements coming out from the EFA have repudiated any such incident and stated that anything of that sort never happened between the team management and their star forward. The thing that started the speculation in the first place was one of Egypt’s players was termed to be coming on for Salah on the pitch, but a few moments later he (that same player) sat back in his seat in the dugout.

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Clarifying the situation after the match, the media section of the Egypt national team reportedly asserted – “There is absolutely no truth to the rumours that Mohamed Salah refused to leave the pitch”. It was further stated that – “Salah was not going to be substituted off in the first place. Hossan Hassan (Egypt’s head coach) was content with only bringing on Nasser Maher”.

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Mohamed Salah’s goal helped Egypt clinch a crucial draw against Guinea-Bissau

Egypt was lagging behind in their Group A World Cup Qualifier fixture against Guinea-Bissau after going a goal down in the 42nd minute of the match. However, Hossan Hassan’s side started the second half well. They seemed to be getting into more attacking situations. Their effort finally paid off when Mohamed Salah scored an important equaliser for them in the 70th minute of the match.

Things could have been better for Salah’s side if he had managed to convert an opportunity into a goal in the closing stages of the match. However, as things stood on the day, both the teams shared the points as the game ended with a scoreline of 1-1. Had Egypt managed to win the match, it would have been their fourth consecutive win in the World Cup Qualifier fixtures in Group A.

Egypt now stands at the top position in their respective group with three wins and one draw in four matches, getting them to 10 points at this stage. They will be playing Ethiopia in their next fixture for the qualifiers. Mohamed Salah’s team will go into that match as the favourites against an off-form Ethiopian side.

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