Between Salah and Mane, who will miss the Qatar 2022 World Cup?

• Senegal and Egypt face off for the second time in slightly over a month
• The first leg will be played at the Cairo International Stadium
• Both teams have no major injury concerns

Liverpool stars Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah clash once again on opposite ends on Friday, when Egypt faces Senegal for the second time in a span of slightly over a month.

The two played against each other in February in the final of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) where Mane finished top, with Senegal winning their first ever Cup of Nations crown on penalties.

They meet again on Friday, this time a place in the World Cup being the piece of cake at stake. One of the two stars will miss the World Cup.

Egypt head coach Carlos Queiroz is keen to assert revenge on Senegal and clinch victory and says the team is ready to battle and give themselves a chance of making the trip to Qayar.

“The boys are very motivated with a fantastic spirit; the players as well as the fans, myself…. I think, know this as a World Cup final for Egypt. We believe in ourselves. Obviously, it won’t be an easy match, we have already seen how difficult it is to play against Senegal. Fans have to understand that it’s a two-legged fixture. The first half is played in Cairo, then there will be another in Senegal,” said the tactician.

Egypt hosts the first leg in Cairo and will look to make the most of their home ground advantage.

Salah and Mane during the AFCON final

In 11 past matches between the two sides, Egypt carries the slight advantage in head to head record, having won five of the games and Senegal four, with the remaining two playing to draws.

Egypt are looking to qualify to the World Cup for the fourth time in their history while Senegal are in search for a third.

Senegal tactician Aliou Cisse is looking to guide the Teranga Lions to a second consecutive appearance at the tournament.

“This back to back duel against Egypt, the team that we have just beaten in the AFCON final on penalties looks tough and very difficult. We are champions of Africa. But we are not favourites, because the statistics say that all the teams that have been African champions have not qualified for the next World Cup,” Cisse said.

Skipper Kalidou Koulibaly has meanwhile said they have prepared well for the match and has asserted confidence they are ready to tackle Egypt and the strength of Salah.

“I played a lot against Salah since he was in Rome. We will not focus on Salah only, but we will focus on all the players. We will make sure not to concede any goals and try to take advantage of opportunities to score,” said the tough tackling defender.

Senegal coach Aliou Cisse celebrates

The two sides are expected to use vastly the same squads that faced each other in the AFCON final with some minor changes here and there.

Egypt’s number one keeper Mohamed Elshenawy will return to the sticks after recovering from injury and will take the place of Mohamed Abou Gabal who starred during the AFCON.

Senegal return to a stadium that reminds them of pain, having lost their AFCON final against Algeria at the Cairo International Stadium in 2019. However, they have since wiped that off with February’s victory and are keen to make good memories from the first leg on Friday.