Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah will be the only overage player in Egypt’s Olympics squad, coach Shawky Gharib has disclosed.
The event’s football competition is typically between national under-23 sides, with the caveat that countries can call up three players over the age limit as senior party members.
Should Salah eventually feature in the Tokyo games, the two-time African Player of the Year will be unavailable for his English team from July 23 to August 8 and will miss both the pre-season plus the opening weeks of the 2021-22 campaign.
“The only senior player who has been chosen is Mohamed Salah, he’s one of the best three players in the world. The remaining choices will depend on the team’s need,” coach Gharid told OnTime Sport TV as per Kingfut.com.
“Let’s wait until the tournament draws and see who will join the likes of France, Argentina and Germany.
“To add an overage player, they must be much better than the ones we already have in the Olympic team.”
“Egypt as a whole has been talking about the overage trio since the U23 Afcon final,” he continued.
“Regarding Spain, the European champions, I read a statement by Sergio Ramos saying that the Olympics are the only tournament he never got to participate in. So maybe we’ll see Ramos with them, just as Neymar joined Brazil in 2016,”
The North African side will feature in the football event of the Olympics for the 12th time (an African record) having emerged as champions of the 2019 Africa U23 Cup of Nations.
Salah is Liverpool’s top scorer in the league so far with 17 goals in 28 appearances, 10 higher than reigning African Player of the Year Sadio Mane who is second.
After featuring against Comoros in Monday’s Africa Cup of Nations qualifier at the Cairo Stadium, he will return to Anfield where he is expected to play for Jurgen Klopp’s men in their encounter with Arsenal on Saturday, April 3 at the Emirates Stadium.
After accruing 46 points from 29 matches in the 2020-21 campaign, Liverpool are seventh on the Premier League log.