Salah Strikes Gives Egypt Victory Over Guinea-Bissau at Cup of Nations

 

After losing 1-0 to Nigeria in the opening Group D game,  Salah’s score against Guinea-Bissau in Garoua got his team campaign in Cameroon back on track. His score came during the second half in the 69^thminute, which saw the seven-time AFCON champions end in a 1-0 win. This goal was significant for the Egypt team and Salah, seeing that he has not scored in any of the previous six appearances this season.

Egypt’s win was anticipated by many Egyptians and Salah’s fans worldwide. The majority of bettors were inclined to bet on Egyptian winning, seeing that the odds on major betting sites indicated that they were the favorites. However, this goal was not without controversy since they narrowly escaped a draw after a goal by Mama Balde was ruled out after a VAR check concluded that Balde has fouled Omar Kamal.

The Liverpool superstar had been played down the middle throughout the game, which made it hard for him to access the ball as often. However, he became more vigilant after getting back to his favorite position on the right side, where he made his winning move in the second minute seeing him fire a shot against the near post.

There were notable misses for both teams when they came close to scoring. With only 11 minutes into the game, Fali Cande took a free-kick for Guinea-Bissau, which went slightly over the bar. The Egyptians also had a fair share of their misses where a shot by Mostafa Mohamed deflected away from the woodwork. After the match, Salah, in a broadcast, admitted that the game had been challenging and the foul was unfortunate for the Guinea-Bissau team, but that was what saved his team. He emphasized that his team is working hard to ensure they win the next game to help them stay in the tournament.

With Egypt hitting the woodwork three times, the win was well deserved, and they are now second in their Group D. They currently only need a win or a draw against their neighbours-Sudan in the next match, which will be held on Wednesday in Yaounde, to qualify for the round of 16.

All Liverpool representatives have played a significant role in their country’s strong positions. Sadio Mane’s Senegal ranks second in Group B, and Naby Keita’s Guinea tops Group B.

The Egyptian’s win, however, does not take away the effort made by the west African nation of Guinea-Bissau, who have qualified to participate in the AFCON three times in a row seeing that they had never qualified before 2017. They are now in the third position in Group D and are yet to record a first win in the tournament out of their played matches.

With only one point from their goalless draw with Sudan, Guinea-Bissau’s hope of staying in the AFCON is gaining a win from their next match with Nigeria, who have had two successive victories and currently tops the group.