Mohamed Salah was part of an Egypt side to suffer only their second loss in 21 months under current coach Hossam Hassan, with 55th-in-the-world Uzbekistan the victors.
After securing World Cup qualification with two goals in a 3-0 victory over Djibouti in the October break, Salah has joined his Egypt teammates for this month’s Africa Cup of Nations warmup.
That has led Hassan’s side to Dubai for the Al Ain International Cup, with two planned friendlies starting with a semi-final against Uzbekistan on Friday.
Unfortunately it ended in defeat for Egypt, with two goals from Oston Urunov earning Uzbekistan – 55th in FIFA’s world rankings, 23 places below their opponents – a 2-0 win.
Salah played the full 90 minutes but was unable to make a telling impact for an Egypt side which, as Hassan explained after the game, was “suffering from the absence of 10 key players.”
Among those absent was Man City striker Omar Marmoush, but the Egypt manager was more concerned with the lack of concentration shown in defence.
“Uzbekistan is a strong team with talented players who helped them qualify for the World Cup, but we were not focused on the first goal and the defence was poor on the second goal,” he told reporters per Al-Ahram.
Egypt will now play Cape Verde in the third-placed playoff on Monday, with Uzbekistan facing Iran in the final.
The defeat to Uzbekistan was only their second under Hassan, who was appointed in February 2024, with their first loss coming in a friendly against Croatia in March 2024 – for which Salah was absent.
Will Salah play for Egypt vs. Cape Verde?
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - Sunday, November 9, 2025: Liverpool players Dominik Szoboszlai (L) and Mohamed Salah in the line-up before the FA Premier League match between Manchester City FC and Liverpool FC at the City of Manchester Stadium. (Photo by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)
While in previous international breaks – including in October, when he missed the sat out of two World Cup qualifiers – Salah was granted a resting period, there is currently no indication that will be the case this month.
He is therefore expected to start the clash with Cape Verde as it stands, which could see him play his 17th full 90 minutes of the campaign already.
With Egypt’s time in Dubai designed to prepare them for AFCON, which kicks off in just over a month’s time, it will be seen as a vital opportunity for Hassan’s side to gel despite those absences.
Salah is set to depart for the tournament after Liverpool’s Premier League clash with Brighton on December 13, and will at the very least miss three fixtures.
Salah’s AFCON schedule
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - Sunday, April 27, 2025: Liverpool's Mohamed Salah, draped in a flag of Egypt, celebrates with supporters after winning the League Title after the FA Premier League match between Liverpool FC and Tottenham Hotspur FC at Anfield. Liverpool won 5-1. (Photo by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)
• December 13: Liverpool vs. Brighton
• December 14: Join up with Egypt squad
• December 22: Egypt vs. Zimbabwe
• December 26: Egypt vs. South Africa
• December 29: Angola vs. Egypt
• January 3/4/5: Round of 16
• January 9/10: Quarter-finals
• January 14: Semi-finals
• January 17: Third-placed playoff
• January 18: Final
• January 21: Marseille vs. Liverpool
The No. 11 will be absent for the meetings with Tottenham (Dec 20), Wolves (Dec 27) and Leeds (Jan 1) and he could be unavailable for four more games if Egypt reach the final.
The 2025 AFCON takes place in Morocco and runs from December 21 to January 18, with Egypt playing Zimbabwe (Dec 22), South Africa (Dec 26) and Angola (Dec 29) in the group stage.