Despite Egypt having been knocked out by Senegal in the semi-finals of AFCON, Mo Salah will remain with his team until the end of the tournament.
Mo Salah’s return from AFCON
It wasn’t to be for Salah again at AFCON, as his Egypt team were knocked out at the semi-final stage by Senegal.
Sadio Mane got the decisive goal as Senegal beat the Pharaohs 1-0 to progress to the final, leaving Egypt to take part in the third-place play-off against Nigeria.
With some fans questioning whether Salah needed to stay for the dead rubber game on Saturday, it has now been reliably reported that the Egyptian captain will be available to figure.
Reporter Ismael Mahmoud, who covers the Egypt national team, has said Salah and Man City‘s Omar Marmoush will be an option for coach Hossam Hassan, with the pair only returning to England after the tournament concludes.
This means that while he could be back on Merseyside in time, Liverpool’s No. 11 will likely now not be available for the away game in Marseille on Wednesday night, instead returning to the squad against Bournemouth on Saturday, January 24.
AFCON 2025/26: The Final Fixtures
Date Fixture Time (GMT) UK TV Info
Sat, Jan 17 Egypt v Nigeria (3rd Place) 4:00pm E4
Sun, Jan 18 Senegal v Morocco (Final) 7:00pm Channel 4
Read more here
Today’s Liverpool FC News
FRANKFURT, GERMANY - Wednesday, October 22, 2025: Liverpool's Andy Robertson applauds the supporters after the UEFA Champions League match between Eintracht Frankfurt and Liverpool FC at the Waldstadion. (Photo by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)
• Andy Robertson has said he would like to stay at Liverpool but also wants to keep playing football – he gave an update on contract talks, with his deal expiring this summer
• Arne Slot has admitted to All Red Video that we “might not” have seen the last of Dominik Szoboszlai at right-back this season
• Sadio Mane has sent a classy message to Salah after his goal for Senegal knocked Egypt out of the AFCON semi-finals – read it here
More from This Is Anfield
It hasn’t been a great season for Liverpool so far, but there have been some players who have stood above the rest in difficult times. Using FotMob‘s ratings, we look at who the stats say have been Liverpool’s best performers:
“Third in FotMob’s rankings is Cody Gakpo (7.23), as he has the most assists (three), most big chances created (seven) and second-most goals (five), though supporters may see it differently!
“The top five is then rounded off by Virgil van Dijk (7.21), Liverpool’s highest-rated defender, and Florian Wirtz (7.10).”
READ: Liverpool’s top 10 players of the season so far – stats reveal surprise No. 1
Elsewhere in the football world
EINDHOVEN, NETHERLANDS - Wednesday, January 29, 2025: Liverpool's assistant coach John Heitinga during the pre-match warm-up before the UEFA Champions League Matchday 8 game between PSV Eindhoven and Liverpool FC at the Philips Stadion. (Photo by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)
• Former Liverpool assistant coach John Heitinga has joined Thomas Frank at Tottenham – didn’t see that one coming!
• Aston Villa are interested in signing Tammy Abraham from Besiktas (Sky Sports) – he has 12 goals in 24 appearances this season
• Alvaro Arbeloa has taken on the blame for Real Madrid‘s dramatic 3-2 Copa del Rey defeat to Segunda side Albacete – it was the ex-Liverpool right-back’s first game as head coach since Xabi Alonso’s exit
Liverpool FC: On this day
Weren’t the scenes amazing when Macclesfield knocked Crystal Palace out of the FA Cup at the weekend? Well, they’re great for the neutral but not so fun when it happens to your team.
Liverpool have been knocked out of the cup by non-league opposition on three occasions, the most recent coming on January 15, 1959, just over a month after Bill Shankly was appointed.
Second division leaders Liverpool travelled to play in front of 15,000 supporters at St George’s Lane, where they faced Southern League outfit Worcester City.
The non-league team took a 2-0 lead before Geoff Twentyman netted an 83rd-minute penalty to make the finish a nervous one.
Worcester held on, though, and went through to the fourth round where they were beaten 2-0 by Sheffield United at home.
That remains their greatest-ever FA Cup campaign and they are still playing in the Southern League Premier Division Central to this day.