Egypt who lost to Morocco in Saturday’s final match of the U23 Africa Cup of Nations are set to include Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah in their Paris 2024 Olympic squad.
According to Egyptian newspaper, Ahram, Rogerio Micale, the coach of Egypt’s U-23 team, has expressed his willingness to consider any player over the age of 23, including Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah, for the 2024 Paris Olympics squad.
During a television program, Micale revealed that he closely monitors the Egyptian Premier League to determine which players will be selected for the U-23 national team ahead of the Paris Olympics.
He emphasized that the door is open for all players and encouraged them to perform well to catch the attention of professional clubs.
The 54-year-old tactician led Egypt to secure a place in the 2024 Paris Olympics and reach the final game of the 2023 U-23 Africa Cup of Nations, where they lost to Morocco.
“I am doing my best to choose the young players who will participate in the upcoming Olympics,” Micale said. According to Olympic rules, each squad can include a maximum of three players over the age of 23. While there is still one year to assess the situation and make decisions, Micale shared his hopes that Mohamed Salah will be one of the three, acknowledging his stature as a prominent player.
“We still have one year to think of the matter and evaluate the situation, but for sure we welcome Salah (..) Salah is a significant as Neymar in Brazil,” the U-23 national team coach added.
Despite their loss to Morocco in the Africa Cup of Nations final, Micale assured fans that the team would strive to achieve a medal in the Olympic Games.
Egypt, Morocco and Mali will represent Africa as the top three teams from the Africa Cup of Nations in the 2024 Paris Olympics.