
How to watch Liverpool vs Crystal Palace: Community Shield live stream as ITV loses TV rights
Crystal Palace face Liverpool in the Community Shield on Sunday - but the match will not be shown on ITV. Oliver Glasner's Eagles stunned the world in May by beating Manchester City in the FA Cup final.
Eberechi Eze helped secure Palace's first-ever major trophy with the only goal of the game to set up the Community Shield clash with Arne Slot's Premier League-winning Liverpool side.
However, fans hoping to catch the game on free-to-air television in the UK will be disappointed. For the first time in four years, the Community Shield will not be shown on ITV.
Here, Mirror Football breaks down how to watch the Community Shield this weekend, as well as all of the important details such as where the match is taking place and what time it kicks off...
READ MORE: Arne Slot backs Florian Wirtz to fill void left by Liverpool star who quit this summer
When and where is the Community Shield?
Sunday's Community Shield clash between Liverpool and Crystal Palace will take place at the 90,000-capacity Wembley Stadium in London, home to the England national team. Kick-off is at 3pm BST.
How to watch the Community Shield
While the Community Shield was free to watch on ITV between 2021 and 2024, the broadcaster has now lost the rights to the game. Instead, Liverpool's match with Crystal Palace will be shown exclusively on TNT Sports 1 in the UK.
A statement from the FA confirmed: "The match will be contested by the 2024-25 Emirates FA Cup winners, Crystal Palace, and 2024-25 Premier League champions, Liverpool. The game will take place at Wembley Stadium connected by EE on Sunday 10 August. It will be broadcast live and exclusively on TNT Sports 1, with kick-off at 3pm BST."
Discovery+ subscribers will also be able to tune into the action from their smart TV, mobile devices, gaming consoles or streaming platform of choice.
What is the Community Shield and how is it determined who plays?
Formerly known as the Charity Shield, the Community Shield is an annual football match played between the winners of the previous season's FA Cup and Premier League. As Crystal Palace triumphed over Manchester City to win the FA Cup and Liverpool secured last season's title, the two will now meet for the Community Shield.
Founded in 1908, the FA donates the match proceeds to community initiatives and charitable causes across the country. Manchester City won last year's Community Shield via a penalty shootout after a 1-1 stalemate with local rivals Manchester United.
The Red Devils are the most successful team in the trophy's history, having lifted it 21 times in total. It will be Crystal Palace's first-ever appearance in the competition, as the club has never won the Premier League and only won its first FA Cup last season. Liverpool, meanwhile, have won the Community Shield 16 times, the latest being a 3-1 win over Man City in 2022.
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Daily Mirror
17 minutes ago
- Daily Mirror
Gianluigi Donnarumma's agent blasts PSG and provides update as 'terms agreed' with Man City
Gianluigi Donnarumma's agent has opened fire on PSG and their treatment of the goalkeeper with his time in Paris up as Manchester City look to swoop in and sign him Gianluigi Donnarumma is set for the PSG exit door and Manchester City have come forward as a likely suitor as the Italian's situation in Paris looks to be irretrievable. Fallout has intensified after a changing of the guard in between the sticks. The goalkeeper, who helped the French giants claim Champions League glory last term, has found himself shunned by manager Luis Enrique and is not in the squad for Wednesday's European Super Cup clash with Tottenham. New signing Lucas Chevalier has come straight in and is set to be the first choice. City have wasted no time in seizing on the situation. They have reached an agreement in principle with Donnarumma regarding personal terms, according to L'Equipe. The goalkeeper has already engaged in positive discussions with City boss Pep Guardiola as those at the Etihad look to swoop in. It could open the door for Ederson, who has been linked with a move away, to join Galatasaray as those in Manchester continue to overhaul their squad. Donnarumma's agent Enzo Raiola, who has been left fuming by the situation, admits England is a serious option. He said: 'We will consider solutions now, maybe in Premier League there will be clubs able to pay what's needed. Paris Saint-Germain are asking for big money. They talk about respect, but it's only about the money. He =added: 'We are shocked by PSG. There's zero respect by the club after 4 years together. We will consider the situation also with our legal team. Gigio was even ready to reduce his salary but PSG changed the conditions again', told Sky Sport. Initial reports had claimed the Italian would be available for around £26million, but others have suggested it could be as high as £40m. City deem the second figure to be too high and may need to negotiate with the Parisians if they are to land the 26-year-old, who has also been linked with Manchester United. Donnarumma's situation has escalated after a contract fall-out, which has reportedly seen the Italian ask for a 50 percent hike on his current £210,000 per week salary - although that contradicts what his agent says - despite PSG wanting to change their wage structure. And on Tuesday he vented his frustration at being forced out by Luis Enrique. He posted on Instagram: 'Unfortunately, someone has decided that I can no longer be part of the group and contribute to the team's success. I am disappointed and disheartened. I hope to have the opportunity to look the fans at the Parc des Princes in the eyes one more time and say goodbye as it should be done.' Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.


BBC News
17 minutes ago
- BBC News
Wildcards, breakouts and new faces - 21 Premier League players to watch
You already know about the Premier League's established superstars but what about the wildcards who might make a name for themselves this season?Whether they are new and recent signings, late bloomers or exciting young academy talents, we are talking about the less familiar faces of all ages who are hoping for a breakout BBC Sport's TV and radio commentators pick 21 players who will be worth watching out for in the next few months - and a manager who may surprise a few people too. 1. Estevao Willian - Chelsea Age: 18 Position: Winger Country: Brazil Conor McNamara: I commentated on Estevao's debut for Chelsea against Bayer Leverkusen last week and the kid is a showed an excellent poachers' instinct to score his first goal in Chelsea blue, reacting well after Cole Palmer's shot had come back off the crossbar - but Estevao's game is all about running with the ball at high speed. He only turned 18 in April, but the Brazilian looks the real early days of course, but he already seems to have a telepathy with Palmer - when the England international backheeled the ball on the edge of the area against Leverkusen, Estevao knew it was coming and got his shot Scott: I'm commentating at the Bridge on Sunday and Estevao is the player I'm most excited about by many as the biggest talent to come out of Brazil since Vinicius Junior, he gave Chelsea fans a taste of his ability with a cracker against them at the Club World Cup, and has since impressed in a blue shirt with a sparkling showing in the friendly win over electric performance showcased the abilities that have led to all the hype - immense quality on the ball and extreme confidence and flair driving at defenders with is versatile as well, able to play on either flank or as a number 10. Chelsea's plan was to ease him in gradually, but they might have to re-think that... 2. Joel Piroe - Leeds United Age: 26 Position: Striker Country: Netherlands Guy Mowbray: The very definition of a wildcard, given that he can look like he can do it all AND the total opposite - sometimes within the same game. I've a feeling Leeds will have brought in a new striker to start ahead of him before the big kick-off, but I wouldn't be surprised to see him come on as an impact sub to get them a point or two early in the season. 3. Cristhian Mosquera - Arsenal Age: 21 Position: Centre-back Country: Spain James Fielden: All of my picks come from the Uefa age-group championships that I covered in the summer and Mosquera looked largely untroubled throughout at the Under-21s tournament in Slovakia. A front foot and aggressive defender when need be, he was extremely confident stepping forward and helping in attack. With recovery pace to help in rare situations of Spanish panic, he sounds like Mikel Arteta's kind of he can dislodge the established elite at Emirates Stadium is another matter, but Arsenal have had injury issues in the middle of defence, and he's only missed three games for Valencia over the last two seasons. For a reported fee of £13m, he looks to be a low risk and potentially high reward acquisition. 4. Dan Ndoye - Nottingham Forest Age: 24 Position: Forward or winger Country: Switzerland Steve Bower: Dan Ndoye is new to the Premier League and could be another shrewd piece of business from Nottingham first came to my attention in the Europa Conference League for Basel and subsequently on to the Champions League with Bologna.I've also covered a fair bit of Switzerland for BBC Sport at the last two major tournaments and he has steadily grown into a crucial player for his the departure of Anthony Elanga, Ndoye looks an exciting replacement for Forest fans. At 24, he has good experience and looks ready for the Premier League. 5. El Hadji Malick Diouf - West Ham Age: 20 Position: Left-back or left wing-back Country: Senegal Ian Dennis: There were a number of Senegal players who caught the eye when they beat England at the City Ground in June but none more so than El Hadji Malick Diouf. During my commentary for 5 Live that night I'd mentioned interest from Brighton and Hove Albion so I'm not surprised to see him in the Premier League and West Ham have a real gem. Diouf can play as a left-back or a wing-back, has an ability to get up and down. He is a dynamic player with excellent crossing ability and somebody who will offer a real threat in an attacking sense. He scored seven goals for Slavia Prague last season and I think he will become a real crowd favourite at West Ham. 6. Emmanuel Agbadou - Wolves Age: 28 Position: Centre-back Country: Ivory Coast Tom Gayle: For me, Emmanuel Agbadou was one of the Premier League's best signings during the January transfer window. Wolves had to strengthen defensively and, in the Ivorian, they managed to more than fulfil the need for a top-quality centre-half vacated by Max Kilman's departure five months reading of the game and positioning, combined with a heavyweight boxer build and the athleticism of a gymnast, made him one of the league's toughest opponents in a one-v-one situation. What also stood out was his confidence. Inside his own box he can happily receive the ball and turn while under pressure, spray long-range passes, and drive with possession way past the halfway line. This nonchalant style helped enable Pereira's side to play much more aggressively over the second half of the transition to the English top flight is a sharp poke in the eye to anyone who continues to view Ligue 1 as a 'Farmer's League'. I'm convinced the Agbadou fan club will only grow bigger this season, especially if he continues taking goal-kicks, helping conjure 'proper Sunday league' vibes. 7. Simon Adingra - Sunderland Age: 23 Position: Winger Country: Ivory Coast Jonathan Pearce: I wish Simon Adingra well at Sunderland. This talented Ivorian had a really good first season at Brighton, famously scoring at Ajax to send the travelling fans there into delirium. He started last season well too, with four goals in his first eight games, but then the confidence in his tricky dribbling fell away. He seemed to be trying almost too hard to hold off the challenge from Yankuba Minteh for his place and performances suffered.I hope Sunderland fans are excited by him. £18m is not a lot for a player who deserves to succeed in his fresh start 8. Jhon Arias - Wolves Age: 27 Position: Winger or attacking midfielder Country: Colombia Conor McNamara: I was in the United States for the Club World Cup and Jhon Arias was one of the standout players of the tournament as he played his final games for his old club Fluminense, picking up three player-of-the-match is 27, so should be at his peak, old enough to not be overawed by the Premier League Colombian will take the No.10 shirt vacated by Matheus Cunha. He scored his first goal in Wolves' colours in a recent friendly against Girona showing excellent dribbling skills to run deep into the penalty area before shooting from close is my top tip of this summer's new signings to be a big hit. 9. Diego Coppola - Brighton Age: 21 Position: Centre-back Country: Italy James Fielden: I saw Coppola play twice at the European Under-21 Championship in the summer and it was against Spain and Germany, so good games to judge him against top teams. Brighton had clearly done their homework previous to the Euros with the deal announced mid-competition, and you can see why they're ready to drop him into their evolving and commanding in the middle, Coppola was also keen to play out over short and long distances and that, along with other metrics clearly impressed the Seagulls. 10. Romain Esse - Crystal Palace Age: 20 Position: Midfield Country: England Mark Scott: There was a buzz when Palace made Romain Esse their latest youthful acquisition from the Championship in January. That excitement grew after he bagged his first Premier League goal 25 seconds into his debut, but game time proved limited after tough to dislodge Eberechi Eze and Ismaila Sarr in attack, but Esse showed while he was at Millwall how good he can be at both taking on opponents and crossing, as well as cutting in and getting a shot Palace get through their Conference League play-off, the extra games in Europe will afford him more opportunities to display those attributes. 11. Harry Howell - Brighton Age: 17 Position: Midfield Country: England Guy Mowbray: I must confess to never having seen him play... but he's a name that's been mentioned to me by quite a few people this summer - some of whom I consider to be VERY good judges!As was once said about another teenager, external who made his mark on the Premier League - "remember the name".Jonathan Pearce: Brighton fans will be praying that Carlos Baleba stays put and that Yankuba Minteh continues his dramatic improvement. But there's another youngster ready to leap off the Amex talent conveyor belt.I was mightily impressed by Howell's cameo debut in the penultimate game of last season. He helped win the game with his front foot, fearless, direct running at the cousin Jack Hinshelwood had a big breakthrough season last time around - 2025-26 could be the year for Harry. 12. Jair Cunha - Nottingham Forest Age: 20 Position: Centre-back Country: Brazil Conor McNamara: Jair Cunha was another player that I saw in action this summer at the Club World Cup. He's 6ft 6in but is strong as well as tall - he is huge for a used his height to score a header for Botafago against Seattle Sounders, but it was his defensive calmness that caught the eye that day, even more than the goal he scored. He's very comfortable taking the ball down and controlling it in tight spaces where others would just boot it tells us that he should be raw, because he has played so little senior football in his short career so far - only 46 games so far - but this guy has a real presence about him. He was a key player in the Brazil team that won the Under-20 South American Championship this year. 13. Max Dowman - Arsenal Age: 15 Position: Midfielder Country: England Ian Dennis: I can't wait to see Arsenal's Max Dowman in the flesh because the last time I heard such a buzz around a youngster was Wayne Rooney.I speak to a lot of scouts and I have heard rave reviews for a while about this 'gifted' attacking much so, I spoke with Gunners midfielder Declan Rice about him last season, who at the time claimed "Max is the best 15-year-old in the country".It was March when I sat down with Rice, who said at the time he has been inundated with great reviews about the teenager, explaining: "I've had so many texts about Max recently where people have watched him and are saying "wow, what a talent".Dowman doesn't turn 16 until 31 December but sounds the real Fielden: Maybe not an original hot take that Dowman is going to be much talked about in years to come, but even having seen him play at the Uefa European Under-17 Championship this summer you can see why he'll cause teams no end of problems wherever he plays off the front of a growing number of English players who glide across the field with grace that we've maybe not been used to seeing over the last couple of decades, it'll be interesting to see what Arteta has planned for him, firstly in terms of game time beyond the domestic cups and also, the position in which he'll be deployed. Let's hope he fulfils his potential and is managed carefully at domestic and international level. 14. Habib Diarra - Sunderland Age: 21 Position: Midfielder Country: Senegal Guy Mowbray: Can a club record signing be classed as a 'wildcard'? Well, given that Diarra will be new to most Premier League watchers, I'm putting him in that 21, the midfielder - who Sunderland beat Leeds to sign - captained Strasbourg to European qualification last season, before scoring one of Senegal's three goals against England at the City Ground in June. His quality stood out when I went to watch Sunderland's pre-season game against Sporting last month. 15. Rio Ngumoha - Liverpool Age: 16 Position: Winger Country: England Steve Bower: A few people within academy football told me about Rio Ngumoha over a year ago - tales of Chelsea's anger at losing the teenager, and a big gain for Slot's positive approach was immediate in involving him in first-team training and then we saw him become the youngest player to start a game for the club in January in the FA not 17 until the end of August but I know internally there's huge excitement about him, and his goals in pre-season have heightened a young player sees an opportunity and, with Luis Diaz's departure, Ngumoha looks set to be in the first-team group throughout the McNamara: Back in January I commentated for Match Of The Day when Ngumoha became the youngest player to start a match for Liverpool - aged 16 years and 135 days old - in the 4-0 win over Accrington in the FA make us all feel old, the song that was No.1 in the charts the day he was born was Katy Perry's 'I Kissed A Girl'!At the time he was so unknown that I needed Slot to help me pronounce his name that FA Cup appearance was his only first-team game and he never made the bench for a Premier League match through to the end of the form this pre-season suggests that should change this term. He is still very young and we know that competition for places will be severe at Anfield, but Ngumoha has a spark about him. 16. Thierno Barry - Everton Age: 22 Position: Striker Country: France Guy Mowbray: Having checked his numbers and seen a few clips online, I'm really hoping he can make a big - and quick - impact for Everton. He'll be raw certainly, but the talent is undoubtedly there for David Moyes to work with. It's about time Everton had a strong centre-forward who can consistently deliver again. Dixie Dean, Tommy Lawton, Joe Royle, Bob Latchford, Andy Gray, Duncan Ferguson... Thierno Barry? And if he doesn't fire - how about Beto to step up as a bit of a wildcard himself?! 17. Josh King - Fulham Age: 18 Position: Midfield Country: England Tom Gayle: The time feels right for Fulham to release the handbrake from underneath Josh King. As I wrote back in February, the club has a history of struggling to keep hold of prodigious talents, so it's no surprise to see they've employed a more cautious, drip-feed approach when it comes to his development and exposure to first-team between the lines, the fact King signed a new long-term deal in July, his second contract agreement in the space of just over 18 months, says or in fact screams to me that a) there has been interest from other teams, and b) Fulham believe he is 'Premier League ready'.Securing top-flight game time won't be easy, though. Right here and now, the experience of both Andreas Pereira and club record signing Emile Smith Rowe, means they have a far greater claim to the number 10 position than the I have no doubt assurances will have been made to King regarding a significant increase in Premier League minutes over the coming year. Manager Marco Silva knows their demanding schedule will inevitably lead to the youngster being granted a 'next man up' moment. Given his impressive cameos to date, I expect King to flourish when given an opportunity. 18. Jaka Bijol - Leeds United Age: 26 Position: Centre-back Country: Slovenia Conor McNamara: Leeds' new centre-back from Udinese is a very interesting signing. I've been wondering for a few years now why a Champions League club has not snapped him one failing seems to be a tendency to mis-time lunging tackles, something he will need to get right in the cut and thrust of the Premier League, but otherwise he appears to have all the attributes - very strong in the air, mobile, and able to ping an accurate long-range pass.I commentated on several of his games for Slovenia at last summer's Euros in Germany, and he did really well in games against strikers such as Harry Kane, Rasmus Hojlund, Alexander Mitrovic, and Cristiano Ronaldo - none of them scored in their games against Bijol during the tournament. 19. Harrison Armstrong - Everton Age: 18 Position: Midfield Country: England Steve Bower: Given Everton's frustrations in the summer market, Blues fans are hoping one of their own has an opportunity to make an impact. I saw Harrison Armstrong start at Goodison in the FA Cup win over Peterborough in January before a productive loan spell in the championship with Derby. Still only 18, he offers versatility in the attacking have to be patient but he'll be hoping to follow the likes of Ross Barkley and Anthony Gordon in taking his opportunity when it arises. 20. Charalampos Kostoulas - Brighton Age: 18 Position: Forward Country: Greece Mark Scott: Brighton's track history of buying low and selling high is the envy of city traders, but their £30m outlay on Charalampos Kostoulas is the second most they've ever spent on a Seagulls rarely get it wrong though and haven't blinked at splashing that much on an 18-year-old with just a season of senior football behind shown versatility having impressed as a number nine at academy level, before switching successfully to a second striker role once he made the first team at physicality has also caught the eye, with one of his former coaches saying the strength he has for his age is "extraordinary". Maybe he'll turn out to be yet another Brighton bargain. 21. Justin Devenny - Crystal Palace Age: 21 Position: Midfield Country: Northern Ireland Jonathan Pearce: Jason Devenny caught my eye the minute I saw him in Palace's 2-2 draw at Aston Villa last November. It was only his second game. He scored, but more than that he wanted the ball. He was hungry to make an certainly did that with the winning Community Shield shootout penalty against Liverpool last Sunday. He'll never forget that and I've a feeling he'll have a big season. And a manager... Keith Andrews - Brentford Conor McNamara: Obviously no longer a player, but I would still put Keith in the 'wildcard' his appointment has raised plenty of eyebrows but I have worked regularly with him as a co-commentator in the past for Irish enthusiasm and way with words really impresses me. Because I know him from work, in recent seasons my eye would be drawn towards him before games when Sheffield United or Brentford were warming up and, although an assistant at the time, he always seemed to be at the heart of everything and constantly communicating with the owners at Brentford have earned a reputation for making good decisions, and they will not have made this one rashly. They have seen him up close, and will have heard the feedback of a squad who enjoy his many high-profile managers have crashed out in their first Premier League job so it certainly is not easy. But I'll be hoping that Andrews gets off to a really good start.


BBC News
17 minutes ago
- BBC News
Mohamed Salah: Egyptian king - where it all began for Liverpool star
"Whenever I walk in here, I can't help but recall how he used to move and the way he controlled the ball. It was something else."One of Mohamed Salah's first coaches is opening the all-new dark green gates of the youth centre in Nagrig, a village about three hours north of Cairo. This is where it all began for one of the world's most prolific forwards - a player who propelled Liverpool to the Premier League title in was on the streets of Nagrig where a seven-year-old Salah, external would play football with his friends, pretending to be Brazil striker Ronaldo, France's legendary playmaker Zinedine Zidane or Italian maestro Francesco Totti."Mohamed was small compared to his team-mates, but he was doing things even the older boys couldn't manage," Ghamry Abd El-Hamid El-Saadany says as he points to the artificial pitch which is now named in Salah's honour."His shots were incredibly powerful, and it was obvious that he had determination and drive."Salah, 33, is about to embark on his ninth season at Liverpool, where the winger has scored a remarkable 245 goals in 402 league and cup appearances since joining in first global football superstar has won every domestic honour as well as the Champions League with the Reds, but has yet to taste success with his the Africa Cup of Nations in December and the 2026 World Cup on the horizon, BBC Sport visited Egypt to discover what Salah means to the people of the football-mad country of 115 million, and how a small boy from humble beginnings became a national icon."I still feel my father's joy when I watch Salah," says Lamisse El-Sadek, at the Dentists Cafe in the east of Cairo. "After Salah joined Liverpool, we used to watch every match on television together."The cafe is named after the former owner's original profession and is now where Liverpool fans gather to watch matches on the big is wearing a Liverpool shirt with her father's name on the back. "He sadly passed away two years ago," she adds."Every Liverpool game was some of the happiest two hours in our household every week and even if I had to miss some of the game due to school or work, my father used to text me minute-by-minute updates."Salah didn't come from a class of privilege. He really worked hard and sacrificed a lot to reach where he is now. A lot of us see ourselves in him."You can listen to the full version of Mohamed Salah: The Egyptian King here. 'All the kids want to be Salah' The small farming village of Nagrig in the Egyptian Nile Delta is nestled in swathes of green fields, growing jasmine and watermelons. Water buffalos, cows and donkeys share dirt roads with cars, motorbikes and horse-drawn is here where one of the world's best and most prolific forwards, affectionately known as the 'Egyptian King', spent his early years."Salah's family is the foundation and secret behind his success," adds El-Saadany, who calls himself Salah's first coach after nurturing him when he was eight years old."They still live here with humility, values and respect. That's one reason people love them so much."The youth centre has been given an impressive upgrade recently in tribute to the village's most famous son, and the green playing surface would not look out of place at a professional training ground."They [Salah's family] made many sacrifices when he was young," says El-Saadany, who is standing next to a huge photograph that hangs behind one of the goals, showing Salah with the Champions League trophy."They were incredibly supportive from the very beginning, especially his father and his uncle, who is actually chairman of this centre."Salah's footprint is everywhere in Nagrig, where children run around wearing Liverpool and Egypt shirts with the player's name and number on the is a mural of Salah outside his old school, while a tuk-tuk rushes past beeping its horn with a large sticker of the player smiling on the the heart of Nagrig is the barber's shop where a teenage Salah would get his hair cut after training."I'm the one who gave him that curly hairstyle and the beard," says Ahmed El Masri."His friends told him not to get his hair cut here because we're from a village not a city, but he'd always come to me. The next day his friends would be surprised [at how good he looked] and ask him 'who's your barber?'." The hairdresser recalls watching Salah's skills at the youth centre and on the streets of the village."The big thing I remember most is that when we all played PlayStation, Salah would always choose to be Liverpool," he adds. "The other boys would choose Manchester United or Barcelona, but he'd always be Liverpool."All the young kids now living in the village want to be like him."Salah's football education included a six-year spell at Cairo-based club Arab Contractors, also known as Al joined them at the age of 14 and the story of Salah being given permission to leave school early to make daily round trips, taking many hours, to train and play for Arab Contractors has become legendary in Egypt and beyond. Shaped by a famous bus journey A couple of the passengers on board the cramped, seven-seater Suzuki van on the edge of Nagrig are getting jittery."Are they getting on or not?"This is not a bus service which runs to a timetable. In fact, the driver only leaves when it fills a teenager this bus stop was where Salah started his long journey to training at Arab Contractors. "It was a tough journey and also incredibly expensive," El-Saadany says."He depended on himself and travelled alone most of the time. Imagine a child leaving at 10am and not returning until midnight. That journey required someone strong; only someone with a clear goal could bear such a burden."When we do jump on the bus, we are squeezed at the back behind a mother and her two sons and we head in the direction of a city called Basyoun, the first stop on Salah's regular journey to would then jump on another bus to Tanta, before changing again to get to the Ramses bus station in Cairo where there would be another switch before finally reaching his the early evening sessions it was time for the same long trip back to Nagrig and the same regular changes in white microbuses darting around the roads at all hours are one of the first things you notice when you arrive in Cairo, packed with travellers hopping on and hopping off."These vehicles handle around 80% of commuters in a city home to over 10 million people," Egyptian journalist Wael El-Sayed explains."There are thousands of these vans working 24/7." Just the small journey to Basyoun is tough in hot and uncomfortable conditions at the back of the bus, so you can only imagine how challenging the much longer journey, several times a week, would have been for a teenage coach who gave Salah his first international cap believes such experiences have helped provide the player with the mentality to succeed at the top level."To start as a football player here in Egypt is very hard," says Hany was part of the Egypt side that faced England, external at the 1990 World Cup and spent 11 years playing in the Bundesliga. He handed Salah his senior Egypt debut in October 2011 when he was interim manager of the national was also in charge of the Egypt Under-23 team that Salah played in at the London 2012 Olympics."I also had to take buses and walk five or six kilometres to get to my first club of Al Ahly and my father couldn't afford football boots for me," adds Ramzy."Salah playing at the top level and staying at the top level for so many years was 100% shaped by this because this kind of life builds strong players." 'Don't defend!' Driving into Cairo over one of its busiest bridges, a huge electronic billboard flicks from an ice cream advert to a picture of Salah next to the Arabic word 'shukran', which means 'thank you'.Waiting at a nearby office is Diaa El-Sayed, one of the most influential coaches in Salah's early was the coach when Salah made his first impact on the global stage, at the 2011 Under-20 World Cup in Colombia."The country wasn't stable, there was a revolution, so preparing for the tournament was tough for us," says the man everyone calls 'Captain Diaa'."Salah came with us and the first thing that stood out was his speed and that he was always concentrating. He's gone far because he listens so well, no arguments with anyone, always listening and working, listening and working. He deserves what he has."'Captain Diaa' recalls telling a young Salah to stay away from his own penalty area and just concentrate on attacking."Then against Argentina, external he came back to defend in the 18-yard box and gave away a penalty," he says, laughing."I told him, 'don't defend, why are you in our box? You can't defend!'."After Liverpool won the Premier League title last season, I heard him saying Arne Slot tells him not to defend. But I was the first coach who told him not to defend." Egypt's 'greatest ambassador' Salah has played for the senior national team for 14 years and his importance to Egypt is such that high-ranking government officials have been known to get involved when he has been injured."I even had calls from Egypt's Minister of Health," recalls Dr Mohamed Aboud, the national team's medic, about the time Salah suffered a serious shoulder injury in Liverpool's defeat to Real Madrid in the 2018 Champions League final, leading to speculation he could miss the World Cup in Russia a few weeks later."I told him not to panic, everything is going well."Speaking from his medical clinic in the Maadi area of Egypt's capital, Dr Aboud adds: "I was younger and the pressure from inside the country was intense."I had calls from so many people trying to help. One of our board members told me I was now one of the most important people in the whole world."This situation changed me as a person."For the record, Salah did recover to play in two of his country's three group games but was unable to prevent Egypt from making a quick exit after defeats to Uruguay, Russia and Saudi Arabia."I need to tell you that Salah was involved in every single goal in our 2018 World Cup qualification campaign," says former Egypt assistant coach Mahmoud Fayez at his home on the outskirts of had scored a dramatic 95th-minute penalty against Congo in Alexandria to secure a 2-1 win and book Egypt's place at the World Cup, with one qualifying game to spare, for the first time in 28 a nail-biting game, Salah put Egypt ahead before Congo equalised three minutes from time."Do you know when you can listen to silence? I listened to the silence when Congo scored - 75,000 fans and silence everywhere," adds came the penalty that turned Salah into a national hero."Imagine it, a nation of nearly 120 million waiting for this moment to qualify," says Fayez. "He had the toughest and most difficult moment for one player, a penalty in the 95th minute that Mohamed had to score."He scored it and he made us all proud. In the dressing room afterwards he started to dance, hug everyone and he was shouting 'we did it, we did it', after 28 years, we did it."In Cairo is a football academy called 'The Maker', founded and run by former Tottenham and Egypt striker Mido, who is hoping to produce players who will follow in Salah's footsteps."I played for the national team in front of 110,000 people when I was only 17, the youngest player to represent Egypt," Mido says. "I love to feel that people depend on me and Salah is the same."At the time of our visit, a classroom lesson for young players about the mindset required to become a top professional is taking Salah's name on a whiteboard, one of the coaches has written "discipline, dedication and motivation"."The reason Salah is where he is now is because he works on his mental strength daily," Mido adds."He is the greatest ambassador for Egypt and for African players as well. He made European clubs respect Arab players, this is what Salah has done."I think a lot of European clubs now, when they see a young player from Egypt, they think of Salah. He has made our young players dream." Giving back to where it all started Back to Nagrig and we meet Rashida, a 70-year-old who sells vegetables from a small stall. She talks about how Salah has changed her life and the lives of hundreds of other people in the village where he was born and raised."Mohamed is a good man. He's respectful and kind, he's like a brother to us," Rashida is one of many people in the village who have benefited from the work of Salah's charity, which gives back to the place where his journey to football stardom started."The aim is to help orphans, divorced and widowed women, the poor, and the sick," says Hassan Bakr from the Mohamed Salah Charity Foundation."It provides monthly support, meals and food boxes on holidays and special occasions. For example [with Rashida] there's a supplement to the pension a widow receives."When Mohamed is here he stays humble, walking around in normal clothes, never showing off. People love him because of his modesty and kindness."As well as the charity helping people like Rashida, Salah has funded a new post office to serve the local community, an ambulance unit, a religious institute and has donated land for a sewage station, among other Liverpool won the English league title for a record-equalling 20th time last season, fans turned up at a local cafe in Nagrig to watch on television and celebrate the village's famous there be more celebrations in Salah's home village in 2025-26?Despite helping Liverpool to the Premier League title in 2019-20 and 2024-25, the player has yet to lift a trophy for his generation before Salah won three Africa Cup of Nations titles in a row between 2006 and 2010. Since then, there have been two defeats in finals, against Cameroon in 2017 and Senegal in the 2021 edition, which took place in early the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations starting on 21 December - six months before the World Cup - do Egyptians feel that the 33-year-old now needs to deliver on the international stage?"Salah has already done his legacy. He's the greatest Egyptian footballer in our history," says Mido."He doesn't have to prove anything to anyone, he's a legend for Liverpool and a legend for Egypt."