If Egypt are to win the 34th Africa Cup of Nations, they will do so having exhausted Plan A, most of their Plan B, carried to an unlikely triumph on the wild, unpredictable winds that have swept through the tournament.
The Pharaohs, installed among the initial favourites but yet to win a fixture on their nail-biting way into the knockout phase, said farewell to captain and lodestar Mohamed Salah, who has flown to Liverpool, his club, for treatment on a muscle injury of undetermined gravity.
There are further setbacks. Goalkeeper Mohamed El Shenawy, perhaps their next most totemic player, has learnt that the shoulder injury he sustained just before the final whistle of the 2-2 draw with Cape Verde that left Egypt hanging onto second place in their group, is a dislocation, ruling him out of the rest of Afcon.
Manager Rui Vitoria and his staff are also urgently diagnosing whatever has afflicted the team’s defensive shape and very identity. In three Afcon matches so far, Egypt have conceded six goals; in three previous Cup of Nations excursions in their entirety – 17 games, including two losing finals and five tranches of extra-time – they let in just five.
“We have defensive problems,” acknowledged Vitoria. “We need to improve our performance in all aspects.”
In all three of their 2-2 draws in Abidjan, Egypt have let leads slip, twice in the case of the see-saw contest with Ghana. If there is far less embarrassment in scraping a single point from the likes of Mozambique, as Egypt did only through Salah’s stoppage-time penalty on their opening match day, or Cape Verde, who finished top of Group B, than there might have been at the outset of this tournament of giant-killers, this is still a diminished, uncertain Egyptian campaign.
But he walked off the pitch with reasonable mobility. The initial prognosis was for a two-match recuperation with the captain treated on site, a leader absent off the field until a potential quarter-final but present in the camp, there to lead.
Jurgen Klopp, Salah’s manager at his club, Liverpool, then made it known that the player, the club and the Egyptian Football Association had agreed to Salah undergoing his recovery in Liverpool.
The potential comeback date had been extended to a possible Afcon semi-final on February 7, at the soonest, with Salah’s representative stating that the injury was more serious that initially thought.
Egypt's Mohamed Salah receives medical treatment during the Africa Cup of Nations Group B match against Ghana in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, Thursday, January 18, 2024. AP
Egypt's Mohamed Salah suffered the injury setback just before half time and received lengthy medical treatment. AP
Mohamed Salah of Egypt signaled to the bench he was unable to continue. AP
Egypt's Mohamed Salah, left, leaves the field. AP
Egypt's Mohamed Salah prepares to take a corner. AFP
Egypt's Mohamed Salah in action against Ghana at the Felix Houphouet-Boigny Stadium in Abidjan. AFP
Egypt were held to a 2-2 draw by Ghana. AFP
Mohamed Salah speaks with Gabonese referee Pierre Atcho. AFP
Egypt's Mohamed Salah fights for the ball with Ghana's Gideon Mensah and Jordan Ayew, right. AFP
Egypt's Mohamed Salah up against Ghana's Gideon Mensah. AFP
“I didn't think it was right for Liverpool, via any intermediary, to speak about this,” said Vitoria.
Former Egypt captains, Ahmed Hassan and Wael Gomaa, legendary players from the Pharaohs’ historic sequence of three successive Afcon triumphs up until 2010, slammed a failure of leadership from Egypt’s decision-makers and from the captain.
“Salah made a mistake, he takes part of the responsibility,” said Gomaa, who was on the team’s management staff at the last Afcon, where Egypt lost the final on penalties to Senegal.
“What’s happened around the injury is an insult to the national team, and its status in Africa – big mistakes from start to finish from everybody involved.”
“He is the captain, he should stay with the team no matter what,” said Ahmed Hassan, whose 184 international appearances, up to 2011, make him Egypt’s most capped player. “He could have had someone from Liverpool’s medical staff come to be with him at the competition.”
A fit Salah would have reached a century of caps had he steered Egypt all the way to a third final of the four Afcons he has taken part in. But he leaves a significant marker on his abbreviated campaign.
Salah set up what looked like an immensely promising start, assisting Mostafa Mohamed’s second-minute goal on match day one against Mozambique and converting the injury-time penalty, at 2-1 down, to grasp what has turned out to be a crucial point.
As it was, the shakedown to join upstarts Cape Verde in the next round was nerve-jangling, with Ghana, who finished third in Group B on two points, collapsing from 2-0 up against Mozambique in the 90th minute to a 2-2 draw on Monday.
Earlier in the afternoon, hosts Ivory Coast had been thrashed 4-0 by Equatorial Guinea, leaving the Ivorians on three points from three group games, behind the Equatoguineans and Nigeria and awaiting other results to see whether they progress as one of the four best third-placed finishers, who go into the last 16 along with the top two from each group.
In this topsy-turvy next phase, Egypt will meet the runners-up of Group F, whose final standings will be clear on Wednesday, with Morocco, DR Congo, Zambia and Tanzania all potentially ending up in second place, and remaining in San Pedro.
The coastal city is regarded as an agreeable location by the Group F teams who have spent the last two weeks there, either in the purpose-built athletes’ village or, in the case of Morocco, in a high-spec hotel complex overlooking the Atlantic Ocean.
Vitoria welcomes Egypt’s change of scene. “Moving venue could have a positive impact after two weeks in Abidjan,” said the coach, although even the 200-mile journey to the new site was being framed around the suffocating Salah controversy.
“Because we have to travel to a different city, because of the temperatures, perhaps it makes more sense Salah should have a place for recovery he can go to straight away.”
Yet as long as El Shenawy, also in recovery, remains with the squad in Ivory Coast, the suspicion will be that a different, unique standard has been applied to Salah’s situation and priority given to the interests of Premier League title-chasing Liverpool.
The biog:
From: Wimbledon, London, UK
Education: Medical doctor
Hobbies: Travelling, meeting new people and cultures
Favourite animals: All of them
If you go
The flights
Emirates and Etihad fly direct to Nairobi, with fares starting from Dh1,695. The resort can be reached from Nairobi via a 35-minute flight from Wilson Airport or Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, or by road, which takes at least three hours.
The rooms
Rooms at Fairmont Mount Kenya range from Dh1,870 per night for a deluxe room to Dh11,000 per night for the William Holden Cottage.
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
Indoor Cricket World Cup - Sept 16-20, Insportz, Dubai
What is Reform?
Reform is a right-wing, populist party led by Nigel Farage, a former MEP who won a seat in the House of Commons last year at his eighth attempt and a prominent figure in the campaign for the UK to leave the European Union.
It was founded in 2018 and originally called the Brexit Party.
Many of its members previously belonged to UKIP or the mainstream Conservatives.
After Brexit took place, the party focused on the reformation of British democracy.
Former Tory deputy chairman Lee Anderson became its first MP after defecting in March 2024.
The party gained support from Elon Musk, and had hoped the tech billionaire would make a £100m donation. However, Mr Musk changed his mind and called for Mr Farage to step down as leader in a row involving the US tycoon's support for far-right figurehead Tommy Robinson who is in prison for contempt of court.
