Former Egypt coach Shehata claims superstar Salah has done ‘nothing’ for Pharaohs

Former Egypt coach Hassan Shehata has claimed that forward Mohamed Salah has done ‘nothing’ for the national team despite his status as the team’s talisman.

The celebrated coach, who won three straight Africa Cup of Nations with Egypt in 2006, 2008 and 2010 feels Salah, who has become a global phenomenonl due to his exploits with Liverpool, has not extended those contributions to the Pharaohs.

While he has enjoyed another great season with Liverpool, 2022 has been disappointing for Salah and the national team.

He managed two goals as Egypt made it to the Afcon final and missed his penalty in the World Cup playoff against Senegal when the Pharaohs failed to secure a ticket to the global event in Qatar.

“Technically, and I’m sorry to say this, but Mohamed Salah did nothing with the national team. He should have done much better than that. He must provide more when he plays for his country,” said Shehata as quoted by Egypt Independent.

Salah managed 31 goals and 15 assists for Liverpool to win the Premier League Golden Boot Award, extending his goalscoring exploits for the Reds that has now yielded 156 goals in 254 games.

There have been suggestions that he produces more for Liverpool because he is surrounded by better players.

“He should have said this to the officials here, although he is not the one who chooses the players, but he should have said that the players here are not like the players in England,” he said.

The veteran coach pointed out that Salah is always heavily marked when turning out for the national team and offered some solutions on how he thinks the Pharaohs can solve this.

“Therefore, the coaches have to find a way to open the space for Salah. We must find players to help him appear properly in the pitch,” added Shehata.

Salah made his debut for Egypt in September 2011 and has been a mainstay in the team since, amassing 85 caps while scoring 47 goals to sit second on the all-time top scorers list behind the great Hossam Hassan who scored 68 in 175 appearances.