Slot explains huge decision to bench AFCON bound Salah against Sunderland

Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) bound Egypt forward Mohamed Salah was benched for the second straight game in Liverpool colours as the Premier League outfit struggled to secure a 1-1 Premier League draw against Sunderland at Anfield on Wednesday.

Salah was an unused substitute at West Ham and the expectation was that he would return to the starting lineup against Sunderland, but manager Arne Slot opted to make only one change to his side.

Mo Salah watching Liverpool vs. Sunderland from the bench 👀 pic.twitter.com/SeAFXvsrga

— ESPN UK (@ESPNUK) December 3, 2025

The game against Sunderland marked the first time Salah was being benched in two consecutive matches in the Premier League Slot.

‘All the players have chance to come in’

Explaining the decision, Slot told Sky Sports: “I play the same team, it’s a balance between continuity and freshness. It’s obvious and clear that we need the full squad because a few who start aren’t able to play a full 90 again. More than ever, we need more than 11 players.

“All the players have a chance to come in, Mo is definitely one of them. It’s a good thing we have players like Mo available on the bench.”

Slot added: “All the players that are on the bench have, of course, a chance to come in. Mo is definitely one of them. We all know what he can mean for this team.

“I think Sunderland is a team that’s really intense in every phase of the game. So we need to be top [intensity] over the course of 90 minutes.

“Like I just said, we need more than 11 players tonight, and it’s a good thing that we have players like Mo, like Federico, Wata, and Curtis Jones and all the others also available.”

On Monday, the technical staff of the Egypt national team, led by head coach Hossam Hassan announced the squad that will take part in the December training camp, scheduled to begin on December 3, as preparations intensify for the AFCON.

The tournament will be held in Morocco from 21 December 2024 to 18 January 2025, and the Pharaohs enter the competition aiming to secure at least a semifinal spot.

Egypt will play a friendly against Nigeria on 14 December at Cairo International Stadium, the team’s final test before traveling to Morocco on 17 December for the Africa Cup of Nations.

Egypt Squad for December Camp

Goalkeepers: Mohamed El Shenawy, Ahmed El Shenawy, Mostafa Shobeir, Mohamed Sobhy.

Defenders: Mohamed Hany, Ahmed Eid, Rami Rabia, Khaled Sobhi, Yasser Ibrahim, Mohamed Ismail, Hossam Abdelmegid, Mohamed Hamdy, Ahmed Fattouh.

Midfielders: Marwan Attia, Hamdy Fathy, Mohanad Lasheen, Mahmoud Saber, Mohamed Shehata, Emam Ashour, Ahmed Sayed Zizo, Mahmoud Hassan Trezeguet, Ibrahim Adel, Mostafa Fathi, Omar Marmoush, Mohamed Salah.

Forwards: Mostafa Mohamed, Salah Mohsen, Osama Faisal.

⚽ Follow Pan-Africa Football across platforms for real-time news and stories.