After losing the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations final and failing to qualify for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, a legendary Egyptian head coach has bemoaned Mohamed Salah for failing to win with Egypt.
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The Liverpool star has helped lead the Pharaohs to two AFCON finals – in 2017 they were defeated by Cameroon, and earlier this year the North Africans lost to Salah's Reds teammate Sadio Mane and his compatriots as Senegal held the trophy aloft for the first time.
With the former Roma attacker still trophyless at international level, former Egypt national team head coach Hassan Shehata has questioned the 30-year-old's efforts on the global stage, while also having a dig at the Egyptian Football Association (EFA)for appointing previous manager Carlos Queiroz.
"I have been out of the picture for a while and I don't know why," Shehata told Sada El-Balad TV.
"When you think about it, I won three consecutive AFCON titles then got sacked, and after that, I was always treated like my days were over.
"Foreign coaches are given all they want, they are paid well and they get all they ask for.
"Ehab Galal took charge at the wrong time, he didn't have enough time to prepare his players.
"I hope he doesn't lose confidence, no other manager would have succeeded in these circumstances.
"Queiroz was different from [Hector] Cuper, but he came through a player's agent, which is not something the EFA should do.
"The player is Mohamed Salah, and I wasn't convinced about choosing Queiroz from the beginning.
"Salah is a great player, he's done so much abroad and he's one of the world's biggest stars. But he didn't do anything for the Egyptian national team, he should have done more."
With qualification for the 2023 AFCON underway, the seven-time African champions have got off to an inconsistent start, having beaten Guinea in their opening match but lost to Ethiopia in their second qualifier, a defeat that cost Ehab Galal his job.
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