{
  "id": 12092373,
  "title": "Egypt lose South Africa friendly as Mohamed Salah's absence continues",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/05/egypt-lose-south-africa-friendly-as-mohamed-salahs-absence-continues",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-10-05T05:58:18.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The National UAE",
    "slug": "the-national-uae",
    "url": "https://www.thenationalnews.com/sport/football/2026/10/05/egypt-lose-south-africa-friendly-as-mohamed-salahs-absence-continues/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Egypt suffered a 1-0 friendly defeat to South Africa in Cairo on Sunday, as Mohamed Salah's ongoing absence continued to burden the national team. The match at the Cairo International Stadium saw Bafana Bafana's Puso Dithejane score the lone goal, capitalizing on a mistake by Egypt's goalkeeper Mostafa Shobeir. Egypt's coach Hossam Hassan faced more questions than answers, given the team's poor performance and the controversy surrounding his remarks and Salah's recent absence. The Egyptian Football Association explained that Salah was granted permission to miss the game to prevent potential injury risks due to the match's artificial surface. Salah's absence compounded the issues for Hassan, who has been under scrutiny for his comments about goalkeeper Mohamed El Shenawy and the players' fitness levels. After the match against South Sudan, Hassan remained defiant, particularly regarding Salah's importance to the team. Despite Egypt's efforts to gel, they struggled to find their footing in the first five minutes of the match, ultimately falling to a humbling defeat as Mosimane's experimental Bafana Bafana side secured their third consecutive victory.",
  "summary": "Egypt coach Hossam Hassan was left with more questions than answers as the Pharaohs succumbed to a 1-0 friendly defeat to South Africa in Cairo on Sunday. The mood in the Egyptian national team has been sombre for some time following a spate of controversial remarks by coach Hassan and superstar Mohamed Salah 's mysterious absence from the team. On Sunday at the Cairo International Stadium, Puso…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "The National Business",
        "title": "Egypt lose South Africa friendly as Mohamed Salah's absence continues",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/05/egypt-lose-south-africa-friendly-as-mohamed-salahs-absence-continues-12092625",
        "published": "2026-10-05T05:58:18.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}