Egypt assistant manager Diaa El-Sayed has called for the Africa Cup of Nations final to be delayed by 24 hours in order to give his side a chance to recover from their penalty shootout victory over host nation Cameroon.
The semi-final was the third game in succession for the Pharaohs that had gone to extra-time and the final is set to kick off at 7 pm on Sunday.
“We are the only team that played 120 minutes in three consecutive games,” El-Sayed said (via the Mirror).
He added: “I hope CAF [the governing body] would move the final from Sunday to Monday for the sake of fair play, they have done that with the third-place decider.”
It’s a bit bizarre for the Egpytian to bring up the third-place decider considering that game has been brought forward, not pushed back, and will now take place on Saturday.
Senegal, the team that Egypt will come up against in the final, progressed through to the final 24 hours earlier than Mo Salah and co. when they defeated Burkina Faso 3-1 on Wednesday night.
With broadcasters set to witness high viewing figures on Sunday, it’s unlikely that the game will be moved to Monday as that would likely lead to a reduced number of viewers.
In this morning’s press conference, Jurgen Klopp confirmed that he’s planning on including Mo Salah and Sadio Mane in Thursday’s visit of Leicester to Anfield in the Premier League.
“I think they will be available [against Brendan Rodger’s side],” the German said.
“The one that wins will probably fly back to their home country for celebrations, that’s how it is.
“I think Tuesday or Wednesday is the latest the winner will be back, the other one probably slightly earlier.
“They have rhythm, they’ve played quite a few games – we will see, I have to speak to them,” the former Borussia Dortmund boss added.
Hopefully, the game goes ahead as planned on Sunday and our players return unscathed ahead of a big second half to the season.