Hossam Hassan’s decision to substitute Mohamed Salah relatively early in Egypt’s draw with Angola sparked debate after the captain left the pitch around the hour mark with the game still goalless.

Salah appeared surprised when his number went up before shaking hands with the Egypt coach.

Hossam later made clear that the change was not injury-related and was purely a technical decision based on how the match was developing.

Salah was below his best

There was a footballing argument for making the change.

Salah struggled to influence the game, produced little threat in the final third and lost possession on several occasions.

From that perspective, Hossam was entitled to look for a different attacking solution.

But do you take off your biggest match-winner?

The other side of the argument is harder to ignore.

Even when Salah is having a quiet game, he remains Egypt’s most dangerous player and the man most capable of deciding a match with one moment.

With the score still 0-0 and Egypt searching for a breakthrough, removing their captain after around an hour was always going to attract scrutiny.

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A coach must judge not only what a player has produced, but also what he might still produce in the decisive moments.

Was Salah angry?

Reports suggested Salah was unhappy after the match, but those claims have not come directly from the player.

What was visible was his apparent surprise at being substituted.

Hossam, meanwhile, insisted there was no physical problem and described the decision as entirely tactical.

It would therefore be a stretch to turn the incident into evidence of a personal dispute between the pair.

A legitimate decision, but a fair debate

Hossam has every right to substitute any player, including Salah.

But when the player involved is Egypt’s captain and biggest attacking threat, the decision will naturally be judged more heavily than an ordinary substitution.

Salah was not at his best against Angola.

The question is whether Egypt would still have been better served by keeping their most dangerous match-winner on the pitch and waiting for one decisive moment.