Courtois Challenges Salah with Bitter Memories and Predicts Egypt's Team Strategy

Thibaut Courtois, the Belgian national team's goalkeeper, has sent a warning to his former teammate, Mohamed Salah, the captain of the Egyptian national team, ahead of their upcoming match.

Egypt will begin their World Cup 2026 campaign against Belgium on Monday night.

Courtois has previously played with Salah at Chelsea and also faced him in the 2022 Champions League final, where he was the goalkeeper for Real Madrid, while Salah played for Liverpool.

'Mohamed Salah is a good friend, we've played together and against each other many times,' Courtois said in a statement.

He added, 'Salah is a crucial player for the Egyptian national team, but I hope the scenario will be the same as the 2022 Paris final.'

Courtois had a stellar performance in the 2022 Champions League final, which saw Liverpool and Salah fail to score, while Vinicius Junior scored the winning goal for Real Madrid in the 59th minute.

He continued, 'It was a tough night for Mohamed Salah, but he's a great player, and we need to be cautious of him.'

Courtois also predicted that the Egyptian national team will play defensively and rely on counterattacks.