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Kwesi Appiah warns Egypt of over-depending on Mohamed Salah

The Black Stars coach says it will be problematic if the Pharaohs over-depend on the Liverpool star.

According to him, it will be better for the Egyptian national team to set up in a way that makes it difficult for opposition teams to mark out just one player.

Salah is having his most productive season yet, having already scored 20 goals in all competitions for Liverpool this season.

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The 25-year-old also leads the Premier League goal scoring charts with 14 goals in just 16 games, and was instrumental as the Pharaohs qualified for the 2018 World Cup.

The former Basel winger scored four times and assisted a further three as Egypt booked a place in Russia ahead of Ghana and Uganda.

However, speaking about the chances of the Pharaohs ahead of the World Cup, Ghana coach Appiah believes Hector Cuper’s side have been over-reliant on Salah in recent years, and has warned that such an approach could be problematic in Russia.

“We played Egypt but as I said, all the time all their attacking machinery is dependent on one player. This is not the best because once he is closed down, then this becomes a problem,” Appiah said in an interview with Kwese Sports.

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“If they can work on some stuff and get two or three players that are playing at the highest level, then automatically teams won’t plan only against Salah but for others as well.”

Egypt have been paired in Group A together with Saudi Arabia, Uruguay and hosts Russia.

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