Salah leads Egypt to victory over Zimbabwe in the Africa Cup of Nations

Salah scores in his fifth consecutive Africa Cup of Nations tournament

Salah leads Egypt to victory over Zimbabwe in the Africa Cup of Nations

Mohamed Salah scored a late goal to lead Egypt to a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Zimbabwe on Monday at the Adrar Stadium in Agadir, in their opening match of Group B at the Africa Cup of Nations.

The Pharaohs dominated the match, pressing their opponents and creating numerous dangerous opportunities in front of goalkeeper Washington Aripi's goal, but their finishing lacked composure and focus. Against the run of play, Prince Diop opened the scoring for Zimbabwe in the 20th minute, capitalizing on a defensive lapse by the Egyptian team after a swift counter-attack. The first half ended with Zimbabwe leading 1-0.

Salah scores in his fifth consecutive Africa Cup of Nations.

In the second half, Egypt continued their attacking pressure in search of an equalizer, and Omar Marmoush finally found it in the 64th minute with a superb shot into the far corner of the Zimbabwean net. Then, in the first minute of stoppage time, Mohamed Salah snatched the winning goal for Egypt with a low left-footed shot from close range after escaping his marker, sealing the victory.

Salah's goal was his eighth in the Africa Cup of Nations, along with four assists, making him the second-highest goal contributor in the tournament since his debut in 2017. 

He trails only Cameroon's Vincent Aboubakar (11 goal contributions) and Sadio Mane (three). Salah also became the first Egyptian player to score in five consecutive Africa Cup of Nations tournaments, while Cameroon's Samuel Eto'o, with 18 goals, holds the record for scoring in six consecutive editions between 2000 and 2010.

With this victory, Egypt shares the top spot in the group standings with South Africa, both teams having 3 points. South Africa had earlier defeated Angola by the same score. 

Morocco is hosting the 35th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations for the second time in its history, after 1988. The tournament will take place from December 21st to January 18th, with 24 teams participating, divided into 6 groups.