- Salah is the second top scorer in the EPL
- He has been named in Egypt’s squad for the AFCON
- Ghana’s Kudus will also likely to play for West Ham before leaving
Mo Salah’s final match for his English Premier League club Liverpool before linking up with the Egypt national team squad for the Africa Cup of Nations will be against Newcastle United on New Year’s Day.
Salah has been phenomenal for the Reds this season and is the second best scorer in the league, hitting the back of the net 11 times, three shy of Manchester City’s Erling Haaland who is leading the race for the golden boot.
On his absence, Liverpool coach Jurgen Klopp is brave they will cope.
“It’s a really average situation that you lose your goalscorer but we had it even worse in the past when Sadio [Mané] and Mo left and we somehow came through it. Traditionally one of them at least went really far in the tournament, which made it even worse. So we have to get through this,” Klopp said, on the impending absence of his top scorer.
He added; “We knew from time to time Africa Cup of Nations appears and Mo has to go and that was always clear. We’ll deal with it.”
Egypt are placed in Group B alongside Ghana, Mozambique and Cape Verde, and kick off their campaign against the Mozambicans on January 14 in Abidjan.
Salah crucial for Egypt in Ivory Coast
Salah is expected to play a crucial role for the Pharaohs, as they seek a record extending sixth African title.
Meanwhile, West Ham head coach David Moyes hopes he can have at least one more dance with star midfielder Mohamed Kudus before he joins up with the Ghanaian national team for the Africa Cup of Nations.
Ghana’s Mohamed Kudus celebrates a past goal
Moyes hopes Kudus can be part of the team that plays Brighton on January 2nd before linking up with the Black Stars squad. West Ham had tweeted after their win over Arsenal that it would be Kudus’ last match, but Moyes is hopeful he can be available for one more game.
“I can’t give you an answer on that either. We’ve not had confirmation on any of our African Nations players on their join-up dates, which is very unusual. Mo is a very important player so we’re hoping there is a chance he could be available to face Brighton,” Moyes stated.
The midfielder has been in scintillating form since moving to London from Ajax and has grown to be a vital member of the squad.
The Black Stars are set to kick off their training camp on January 2, the date which the Hammers face Brighton, and Moyes hopes they can allow a delayed link up with Kudus.
Ghana’s Black Stars will now camp in Kumasi, and not South Africa as earlier planned, ahead of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations. Earlier, the Black Stars had communicated they will hold a pre-tournament training camp in South Africa to prepare for the tournament, beginning December 31, where they would have stated for 10-days.
Ghana changes its plans for pre-tourney camp
Ghana players during a past training session
“The Ghana Football Association wishes to announce that following a review meeting between the Management and Technical Team, it has changed plans to camp the Black Stars in South Africa ahead of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations,” a statement from the GFA stated.
The International friendly against Botswana scheduled on Monday, January 8, 2023 in Johannesburg is called off and GFA is working on finding a new opponent for the team as part of the build up to the tournament in Abidjan.
Ghana’s FA has also announced that their training camp in Kumasi will be strictly inaccessible to the public and the media upon request from the technical team for a quiet and serene camping atmosphere.
Ghana is paired in Group B alongside giants Egypt, Cape Verde, and Mozambique.
The Black Stars will open their campaign against Cape Verde on Sunday, January 14, before taking on record holders Egypt on January 18 and play Mozambique on January 22 in the other Group B game.
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