Flight Chats in the Sky: Salah and Hassan Plot Egypt's AFCON 2025 Triumph
18 December 2025
Flight-side Strategy Ahead of AFCON 2025
Hossam Hassan, head coach of Egypt's national team, spent a long layover discussing with Mohamed Salah, the Liverpool star, as they rode a plane en route to Agadir, where Egypt will compete in the Africa Cup of Nations 2025.
The Pharaohs touched down in the early hours of Thursday in Morocco, gearing up for the continental tournament.
Egypt open their campaign against Zimbabwe on Monday, in the opening match of Group II.
The Pharaohs will also face South Africa and Angola on December 26 and 29, in the second and third fixtures of the group stage.
Hassan and Salah sat for a full 90 minutes on the plane to discuss Egypt's ambitions to lift the continental trophy, noting that Salah has yet to win AFCON.
Egypt reached the AFCON final twice with Salah in the squad, in 2017 and 2021, losing to Cameroon and Senegal respectively.
Hassan walked Salah through memories from the tournament and outlined a few strategic talking points for the squad ahead of the competition.
Punchlines: If Egypt win AFCON, Salah will give the trophy a ceremonial lap around the plane—extra legroom included. If not, the trophy will still have more flight miles than your holiday itinerary.
