Egypt's national team coach Hossam El-Badry decided on Monday to hand Liverpool winger Mohamed Salah the captain's armband after reaching an agreement with the senior players in the Pharaohs' squad. "We took this decision as the coming missions need more stability in the team, including the armband, ahead of the 2022 World Cup qualifiers," El-Badry was quoted as saying on the Egyptian Football Association's (EFA) official website. The 28-year-old Salah wore Egypt's armband for the first time of his career during the 4-0 victory over Comoros in the 2021 African Cup of Nations qualifiers, as skipper Amr El-Sulaya left the pitch in the 71st minute and Arsenal's midfielder El-Neny handed Mo the captaincy sign last month. After securing a place in the 2021 AFCON by winning three matches and drawing in the other three of the qualifiers, Egypt are bidding to reach the 2022 World Cup finals in Qatar. Egypt, record seven-time African champions, have been drawn in Group F of the World Cup qualifiers alongside Gabon, Angola, and Libya. Salah, who started his mission with the Pharaohs in 2011, scored 45 goals so far with the national team, edging out late Tersana striker Hassan El-Shazli, who scored 44 goals. He is placed second behind Egypt's all-time leading scorer Hossam Hassan, who bagged 69 goals. The Egyptian star has performed superbly since joining Liverpool in the 2017 season, achieving great results with the Reds, as well as helping the team win two long-elusive titles: The Champions League in the 2018-2019 season and the Premier League in the 2019-2020 season. (For more sports news and updates, follow Ahram Online Sports on Twitter at @AO_Sports and on Facebook at AhramOnlineSports.)
