Sports · Brief

Salah left out of Egypt's South Sudan qualifier over artificial turf

Egypt has decided not to play Mohamed Salah in an upcoming AFCON qualifier because it will be held on an artificial pitch.

Analysis deskEditor Andersson Iyke26 September 2026, 13:50 GMT

What happened

The Egyptian Football Association decided to rest Salah to protect him from injury risk associated with playing on the artificial surface.2

Mohamed Salah has been left out of Egypt's forthcoming match against South Sudan because it will be played on artificial turf.1 2 3

None of the outlets reviewed reported when the South Sudan match will be played or who will replace Salah in the squad.
None of the outlets reviewed included comment from Salah himself or from his club, Liverpool.
None of the outlets reviewed provided further detail on the specific injury risks associated with artificial turf beyond the general statement attributed to the Egyptian FA.

The match is part of Egypt's Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifying campaign.2 3

Every outlet we drew on, grouped by where it is based. Read the originals for the full reporting.