Klopp wants Egypt and Japan to be eliminated early from AFCON and Asian Cup

Coach Jurgen Klopp admitted he wanted Mohamed Salah and Wataru Endo to be eliminated from the group stage of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) and Asian Cup so they could return to Liverpool soon.

AFCON 2023 takes place in Ivory Coast from January 13 to February 11, 2024. Salah's Egypt team is in Group B and will meet Mozambique on January 14, Ghana on January 18, and Cape Verde on January 22. Meanwhile, Endo and Japan will play Vietnam on January 14, Iraq on January 19, and Indonesia on January 24 at the 2023 Asian Cup - a tournament taking place in Qatar from January 12 to February 10.

Salah and Endo have joined their national teams for the upcoming tournaments. But Klopp admitted he wants the duo to leave the group stage early. "If I said good luck to them, it would be a lie," the German coach said on January 5 at a press conference ahead of the FA Cup third round match against Arsenal. "From a personal perspective, I would be happy if they were eliminated in the group stage, but that's probably not possible. They can go deep and win the championship. We have to solve this problem, and I'm quite positive about that."

Salah and Endo in Liverpool colours this season. Photo: RTE — Salah and Endo in Liverpool colours this season. Photo: *RTE*

In the summer of 2023, Endo joined Liverpool for a transfer fee of 20 million USD and became the second Japanese player to play for the club, after Takumi Minamino. The 30-year-old midfielder immediately became a key factor in Klopp's system, scoring two goals in 24 matches in all competitions, including one goal in 15 Premier League matches and one goal in six Europa League group stage matches.

Meanwhile, Salah is still Liverpool's brightest star with 18 goals and nine assists in 27 appearances in all competitions. Most recently, the Egyptian star scored a double to help Liverpool defeat Newcastle 4-2 in round 20 of the Premier League. Thanks to that, Salah reached the 150-goal mark for Liverpool in the Premier League, becoming the fifth player to reach this milestone for a club in the league, after Harry Kane (Tottenham, 213 goals), Sergio Aguero (Man City, 184), Wayne Rooney (Man Utd, 183) and Thierry Henry (Arsenal, 175).

Klopp insists the focus should not be on replacing Salah but on using other players with different skill sets. The 56-year-old believes Liverpool have plenty of players who can play on the right wing, pointing to Harvey Elliott being deployed in that position in the 5-1 win over West Ham in the League Cup quarter-finals.

"Do you want to play without Salah? Of course not," Klopp added. "We haven't had to do it often before but we've always found a way to get through these periods. Liverpool could lose at Arsenal even with Salah. So there's a chance we could lose without Salah. But now we have a chance to win and we have to focus on that."

In addition to Salah and Endo, Klopp confirmed that midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai will be out for at least the next two games due to a hamstring injury, and denied the possibility of rotating against Arsenal. The German coach affirmed that he wants to win the third round of the FA Cup, then think about the next match against Fulham in the first leg of the League Cup semi-final at home at Anfield on January 10.

Hong Duy

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