Egypt secured an unconvincing win in the first of two Africa Cup of Nations’ qualifiers against Togo, a worrisome result that commentators said had more to do with the poor tactics of manager Hossam El Badry than the absence of Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah from the team.
Salah tested positive for Covid-19 over the weekend and was placed in isolation at his room in a Cairo hotel where the national squad was staying. His test result came just days after he attended his brother's wedding in the Egyptian capital.
In a black tuxedo and a matching face mask, numerous images and videos posted online showed the prolific forward either loosely or not wearing his protective mask while dancing in the middle of a crowd of wedding guests. It's not certain if Salah contracted Covid-19 at the wedding party, although it is a distinct possibility. The wedding reception took place last Monday, just hours after Salah returned home from England.
The wedding party was attended by about 70 people, mostly from Salah’s home village of Nagreeg in the Nile Delta north of Cairo. Authorities have since dispatched Health Ministry teams to test guests who came into contact with the Liverpool forward and to disinfect the village, including Salah’s family home.
Salah has, so far at least, remained largely immune from criticism. After all, other world-class players, including Cristiano Ronaldo, have fallen victim to coronavirus.
Egypt last week tightened its enforcement of preventative measures, warning residents that authorities intended to collect the 4,000-pound ($255) fine for not wearing a mask in public indoor spaces.
Salah holds a special place in the heart of Egyptians. A photo widely shared online on Sunday showed an Egyptian couple celebrating their own wedding day - bridegroom in a black tuxedo and bride in a flowing white wedding dress - posing for a photo with Salah looking on from his hotel balcony.
On social media, news of Salah's ailment triggered an avalanche of "get well" messages from his fans in Egypt, where the player, arguably the greatest player the country has ever produced, is deeply revered. Often referred to as the "pride of all Arabs," his absence from the lineup for Saturday's match against Togo was ironically overshadowed by the disappointment over the Pharaohs' performance, especially given that the West African nation is not ranked among Africa's football giants.
Saturday’s latest outing kept a string of poor or unconvincing results by the Egyptian national squad dating back to the dismal performance at the 2018 World Cup when they lost all three group matches and in the 2019 Cup of Nations when the seven-time champions of the continent were dumped out of their own tournament in the second round by South Africa.
“Salah was definitely missed, after all he is one of the world’s best players, but at the end of the day we were playing Togo and not African heavyweights like Cameroon or Morocco,” said prominent football analyst Sabry Sirag. “The lineup was packed with outstanding players, including Premier League stars like Mahmoud Trezeguet and Mohamed Elneny. But El Badry has no creativity or original tactics.”
“Salah’s absence does not explain the poor show we put on against Togo,” said another commentator, Kareem Said. “The worst of the match is that we had a single scoring chance the entire first half and the lone goal was gotten in a random box melee.”
Fans were much harsher, with most online comments demanding that El Badry be fired by the Egyptian FA.
"I want to tell Hossam El Badry that he needs to find another profession away from football," wrote one fan on the Instagram account of Cairo's popular daily Al Youm Al Sabai, or Seventh Day. "He is not fit to manage the national squad, a replacement must be found before we are sorry," wrote another about the former Al Ahly coach.
The return leg against Togo takes place on Tuesday in Lome. Egypt top their qualifying group on goal difference ahead of Comoros Islands with five points from three matches, with Kenya the other team in Group G. The top two teams from each group will qualify for next year's tournament in Cameroon.
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Essentials
The flights
Etihad and Emirates fly direct from the UAE to Delhi from about Dh950 return including taxes.
The hotels
Double rooms at Tijara Fort-Palace cost from 6,670 rupees (Dh377), including breakfast.
Doubles at Fort Bishangarh cost from 29,030 rupees (Dh1,641), including breakfast. Doubles at Narendra Bhawan cost from 15,360 rupees (Dh869). Doubles at Chanoud Garh cost from 19,840 rupees (Dh1,122), full board. Doubles at Fort Begu cost from 10,000 rupees (Dh565), including breakfast.
The tours
Amar Grover travelled with Wild Frontiers. A tailor-made, nine-day itinerary via New Delhi, with one night in Tijara and two nights in each of the remaining properties, including car/driver, costs from £1,445 (Dh6,968) per person.
Why are asylum seekers being housed in hotels?
The number of asylum applications in the UK has reached a new record high, driven by those illegally entering the country in small boats crossing the English Channel.
A total of 111,084 people applied for asylum in the UK in the year to June 2025, the highest number for any 12-month period since current records began in 2001.
Asylum seekers and their families can be housed in temporary accommodation while their claim is assessed.
The Home Office provides the accommodation, meaning asylum seekers cannot choose where they live.
When there is not enough housing, the Home Office can move people to hotels or large sites like former military bases.
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Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
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Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
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