Mohamed Salah delivered a stoppage-time winner to hand Egypt a dramatic 2–1 victory over Zimbabwe in their opening AFCON match.
The Liverpool star had been largely anonymous throughout the match. Still, he made the difference in the dying moments, capitalizing on a rebound to seal three crucial points for Hossam Hassan’s side.
Egypt started on the front foot at Le Grand Stade Agadir, controlling possession and carving out early chances. Mahmoud Hassan ‘Trezeguet’, Emam Ashour, and Salah all spurned good opportunities in the opening exchanges.
Zimbabwe, increasingly confident as the half wore on, punished Egypt in the 20th minute. Prince Dube ghosted in unmarked to meet Emmanuel Jalai’s cross and tapped home to give Zimbabwe the lead.
Five minutes later, Zimbabwe nearly doubled their advantage, but Mohamed El-Shennawy and Yasser Ibrahim combined well to avert further damage.
Hossam Hassan responded by reshuffling his attack in the 33rd minute, replacing Ashour with striker Mostafa Mohamed and moving Omar Marmoush into a central role. The Manchester City winger looked lively, testing the goalkeeper twice before halftime.
After the break, Egypt pushed harder. A sharp save again denied Marmoush, while Mostafa Mohamed squandered a chance from a dangerous cross just minutes into the second half.
However, in the 64th minute, Marmoush equalized for the Pharaohs. The Manchester City forward unleashed a powerful shot from a difficult angle into the top of the net.
In the three minutes that followed, Hossam Hassan introduced Ibrahim Adel and Ahmed ‘Zizo’ Sayed in search of a winner. Still, Zimbabwe held firm as the clock ticked toward full-time.
Then, deep into stoppage time, Salah struck. The Egypt captain calmly slotted home from close range to clinch the win and spark wild celebrations on the touchline.
The dramatic Salah winner puts Egypt joint top of their AFCON group alongside South Africa, who earlier defeated Angola. The Pharaohs next face the Bafana Bafana on Friday, while Zimbabwe will look to regroup against Angola.