Mohamed Salah joined Egypt's national team camp on Wednesday but did not take part in the final training session as the Pharaohs prepared for the friendly against Russia at Cairo International Stadium on Thursday at 21:00.
Egypt completed its last training session on Wednesday ahead of the match, and Salah arrived at camp after finishing his commitments with Liverpool. Team staff confirmed he was in the concentration but did not train with the group and was expected to miss the first friendly against Russia.
The pre-match build carried weight on the start list for Russia, which a live VAVEL.com coverage published before kick-off: Ilya Vakhaniya, Aleksandr Silyanov, Matvey Melyokhin, Danil Krugovoy, Ivan Oblyakov, Matvey Kislyak, Dmitri Barinov, Maksim Glushenkov, Ivan Sergeyev and Aleksandr Golovin. VAVEL also indicated that Egypt's starting XI had been announced, and their live minute-by-minute framed the fixture as a Partido Amistoso Internacional. As VAVEL.com put it: "Ya está casi todo listo en el estadio no dejes de seguir la transmisión de este minuto a minutos en VAVEL.com para informarte de cada suceso que este aconteciendo en la cancha y el resultado del encuentro entre Egipto vs Rusia en el Partido Amistoso Internacional."
There were other notes from the camp that underline where Egypt's preparation currently sits. Omar Marmoush received a guard of honor after winning the FA Cup with Manchester City before joining national duty; El Mahdi Soliman and Ahmed Fatouh had featured in earlier training sessions. The coaching staff ran an open session for the media during the week as part of their final preparations.
Thursday’s match at Cairo International Stadium is not an isolated friendly but the closing act of a short window of fixtures: the squad will travel on to the United States after the game to continue preparations there. That places an added premium on player management in Cairo — a single appearance or one missed session can shift plans for the U.S. leg of the camp.
The tension in the build-up is simple and decisive: Egypt announced a starting XI according to live coverage, yet their best attacking asset — Salah — is in camp but absent from training and listed as expected to miss the first friendly. That leaves the coaching staff balancing an announced lineup and the practical limits of player fitness. If Salah is unavailable, fringe players who have been working through the camp exercise will be asked to show they can carry the attack into the summer schedule.
This friendly will function as a fitness and selection test more than a headline fixture. With Russia named and Egypt’s XI said to be released, the match gives managers a visible look at combinations without necessarily revealing final plans for competitive windows. Egypt's immediate priority after Thursday is to depart for the United States and maintain the momentum of preparations begun at home; how the staff handle Salah’s absence will shape their first choices on that trip.
Whatever the starting lineups read at kick-off, the practical result is clear: Egypt will use this fixture as a dress rehearsal without relying on Salah to deliver the full attacking spark. That hands the moment to players such as Omar Marmoush and others who trained through the camp — their performances on Thursday will determine who travels to the United States with real match minutes in the tank.
