ESPN/Toye Faleye
Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah scored a stoppage-time goal to give Egypt a 2-1 win over Zimbabwe to start their Africa Cup of Nations campaign on Monday.
Zimbabwe had taken a surprise lead at the start of the game, but Manchester City‘s Omar Marmoush levelled the score in the second half before Salah slotted in his goal to seal the win for the seven-time champions.
An eighth title for Egypt would extend the Pharaohs’ record and give Mohamed Salah his first. The 33-year-old Liverpool star has never won Africa’s premier competition.
Salah was captaining the team in his first start since Nov. 26, when Liverpool lost to PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League.
Salah was involved in a contentious back-and-forth with Liverpool manager Arne Slot in the run-up to AFCON — during which Salah was left out of the squad that travelled to play Inter Milan in the Champions League — after saying in an interview that he thought the club had been blamed for its early-season struggles.
Prince Dube stunned the favorites in the 20th minute when he took Emmanuel Jalai’s cross with his first touch and turned to flick it past Egypt goalkeeper Mohamed El-Shenawy with his next.
Salah tried to rile his teammates, but they were dealt another blow shortly afterward when Emam Ashour went off injured. The midfielder’s tears suggested his tournament was over just as it began.
Arubi tipped over a fierce strike from Marmoush, Trézéguet was booked for diving in an attempt to win a penalty, then Salah, Marmoush, and Mohamed all had efforts blocked before the break.
The game resumed in the same manner until Marmoush finally found a way to score from a difficult angle in the 64th.
Salah’s winner gave the Pharaohs three points in Group B.
