Egypt 2 Zimbabwe 1 – Salah scores late winner as Pharaohs fight back to avoid upset

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Mohamed Salah scored a stoppage-time winner as Egypt fought back to begin their Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) campaign with a dramatic victory over Zimbabwe.

Liverpool striker Salah had been the focus of plenty of attention before the tournament after recent events at club level and for a while it seemed his difficult season might be about to take another turn for the worse.

Egypt are among the favourites to win this competition in Morocco but they were stunned when the Warriors, who are ranked 129th in the world, took a first-half lead.

Prince Dube’s low strike came against the run of play in Agadir and it threatened to be decisive.

But the Pharaohs attacked relentlessly and finally found a way past 40-year-old goalkeeper Washington Arubi when Manchester City forward Omar Marmoush smashed in from a narrow angle midway through the second half.

Salah was heavily involved during the first period but his influence faded during the second. However, Egypt’s captain — almost inevitably — grabbed the headlines when he swivelled inside the area and fired past Arubi in the 91st minute.

The victory leaves Egypt in a good position to advance from Group B. Earlier in the day, South Africa beat Angola 2-1, a result which meant avoiding an upset against Zimbabwe was all the more important for Salah and his team-mates.

Ahmed Walid and Nnamdi Onyeagwara analyse the main talking points.

How did Salah play?

Mohamed Salah is hoping to put his club troubles to one side during AFCON (Franck Fife/AFP via Getty Images)

When looking back through the careers of Egypt’s greatest players, most of them had the prestige of winning AFCON. Rifaat El Fanagily in 1957 and 1959, Mahmoud El Khatib and Taher Abouzeid in 1986, Hossam Hassan in 1986, 1998 and 2006, plus Mohamed Aboutrika alongside a plethora of talent in 2006 and 2008 to name just a few examples.

The names above might be unfamiliar to most, but Salah will be aware of them.

Despite leading Egypt to two World Cup tournaments, in 2018 and 2026, he has not yet won his own continent’s biggest prize, finishing as a runner-up in 2017 and 2021.

In addition, the recent events at Liverpool have only made this AFCON bigger for Salah, who has wanted to win this competition for many years.

In this opening match against Zimbabwe, his creativity was on full display, putting Trezeguet and Emam Ashour in goalscoring situations in the first 15 minutes, linking the play from a narrower position in the right half-space at times, and his corners were effective too.

Salah’s impact faded after the half-time break, when there was less space to attack. But he did have a chance to make it 2-1 with a run in behind the defence in the 77th minute, only to miss the target.

As the second half went on, it felt like Salah’s dream of carrying Egypt to the trophy might be hitting another stumbling block.

However, AFCON scripts never fail to disappoint and, in stoppage time, he scored a scruffy winner to earn Egypt a deserved three points.

It remains to be seen if Salah can carry his nation to glory in Rabat on January 18, but his first-half display and winner are encouraging signs.

Ahmed Walid

Did Egypt deserve to win or did they get away with it?

This was supposed to be Egypt’s easiest match in the group. They had to win the three points against Zimbabwe before facing South Africa and Angola, but needing a stoppage-time goal from Salah to do so did not entirely reflect the performance.

Egypt’s performance on the ball in the first half was impressive, creating plenty of chances from the wide areas and they were unfortunate not to be ahead, let alone to find themselves behind at the break.

The switches of play from Hamdi Fathy to Salah helped Egypt progress the ball into the final third and they were able to create from wide areas. Trezeguet’s early header from a Salah cross was cleared off the line.

When Marmoush was moved to the No 10 position, he linked the attack well and had space to shoot from outside the penalty area but could not score.

Yet, it was Egypt’s out-of-possession display which raised plenty of questions. A 15-minute spell when their left side was played through on multiple occasions led to Zimbabwe’s goal.

Another area where Egypt looked vulnerable was on the defensive transitions, which is ironic considering Hassan opted to play with a more defensive-minded midfield in Hamdy Fathy and Marwan Attia.

The game state meant Zimbabwe could drop deeper and defend in a low block, which afforded Egypt less space to attack, leaving only the wide areas.

It was down the left where Egypt threatened after the break, with Marmoush attacking the space behind Zimbabwe’s right-back to score the equaliser.

Another cross from the left wing brought them close to the winner when Ahmed Sayed Zizo missed a header from close range.

The number and quality of chances Egypt missed in this match summarised a game in which they did not have the clinical edge and were punished for their defensive mistakes — until Salah’s late, decisive intervention.

Their star performers combined in the build-up to the second goal to earn Hassan’s side a valuable three points. Marmoush won the ball in midfield to start a transition, which was finished by Salah. It was scruffy but so important for Egypt.

Ahmed Walid

How unfortunate were Zimbabwe?

Prince Dube scores Zimbabwe’s first goal of this year’s Africa Cup of Nations (Franck Fife/AFP via Getty Images)

Entering this tournament, hopes were not particularly high for Zimbabwe.

Their manager, Mario Marinica, was only appointed to the role on November 4, and had only two games in charge leading into this tournament.

Zimbabwe’s star centre-back and highest-profile player Marshall Munetsi, who plays for Premier League side Wolverhampton Wanderers, spoke earlier this month of his “hurt” at not being able to compete with his team in Morocco due to a medical issue.

They last won an AFCON game when they achieved a 2-1 victory over Guinea in January 2022 and came into the competition with one win from seven matches.

They rode their luck against Egypt, with the seven-time champions peppering their goal with shots and spurning a host of chances.

But they were also able to counter-attack, commit tactical fouls to slow down Egypt’s rhythm and worry the Pharaohs’ defence too.

This performance will give them hope that they will be able to make it out of the group stage at an AFCON for the first time in the nation’s history, even though their prospects were dented significantly by Salah’s late strike.

Nnamdi Onyeagwara

What next for Egypt?

Friday, December 26: South Africa, AFCON Group B, 3pm UK, 10am ET

What next for Zimbabwe?

Friday, December 26: Angola, AFCON Group B, 12.30pm UK, 7.30am ET

This news was originally published on this post .

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