It has been reported in Saudi Arabia that the U-23 Egyptian national team have already settled on the three overage players that will accompany the squad to the Olympics in Tokyo next month, with veteran defender Ahmed Hegazi not included in the team.
Egypt had qualified for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo last year after their U-23 AFCON triumph in 2019; however, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the games were pushed to 2021.
Shawky Gharib’s men were handed a tough draw. The Pharaohs were put in Group C alongside Spain, Argentina, and Australia.
The tournament is set to start on July 21, but Egypt will open their campaign by facing Spain on July 22 and Gharib explained how they will prepare for the competition.
Rules allow the U-23 national team pick up to three overage players to participate with the team in the tournament.
The Egypt U-23 manager Shawky Gharib had announced the shortlist from within he will pick his three overage players which are Mohamed El-Shennawy, Mohamed Abougabal, Ayman Ashraf, Mahmoud El-Wensh, Ahmed Hegazi, Tarek Hamed, Mohamed Salah, Mohamed Elneny.
According to Saudi outlet Al Madina, Gharib has already decided on the three players which are El-Shennawy, El-Wensh, and Salah, which means that one of the highly predicted players to accompany the team, Hegazi, won’t be in Tokyo come July.
Hegazi was a crucial part of the Egypt team that took part in the 2012 Olympics in London, helping the Pharaohs reaching the quarter-finals, before losing to Japan.
The U-23 national team along with the EFA are also facing an issue in getting Liverpool’s consent on Salah’s participation as they have yet to respond to Egypt’s request to include Salah in the roster for the Olympics.
