Salah scores goal as Egypt rally to win against Zimbabwe at CAN 2025 | Football news

Mohamed Salah puts Liverpool controversy behind him with a dramatic winner against Zimbabwe in his first AFCON match.

Mohamed Salah scored a spectacular goal in stoppage time as Egypt came from behind to beat Zimbabwe 2-1 in their opening match of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) finals in Morocco on Monday.

The Egypt captain, starting his first match after four consecutive appearances on the Liverpool bench, fired home a left-footed shot in the 91st minute to give the seven-time champions a late victory after Zimbabwe stunned them by taking the lead in the first half.

Egypt quickly laid siege to Zimbabwe’s goal, but it was the underdogs who scored first through Prince Dube in the 20th minute.

It was left to the Egyptian Premier League contingent of Omar Marmoush, who equalized in the 64th minute, and talisman Salah, to lead them to an ultimate victory.

Salah had entered the tournament in Morocco under the spotlight following a fiery outburst after being knocked out by the Premier League champions, and struggled to find his rhythm for most of the match at the Grand Stade d’Agadir. However, when it counted, he swept home the winner to see Egypt join South Africa, who had beaten Angola 2-1 earlier in Marrakech, at the top of Group B.

It was everything Egypt deserved, breaking a run of six successive draws in the last two editions of the Nations Cup.

They had four good chances in the opening 10 minutes as they put Zimbabwe under intense pressure, but fell behind when Emmanuel ‌Jalai passed the ball inside to Dube, who gained possession and placed his effort into the bottom left corner.

It could have been 2-0 as Daniel Msendami’s pace created a scrambled chance for Washington Navaya which Egyptian goalkeeper Mohamed El Shenawy managed to gather before he could cross the line.

Marmoush sole effect

Marmoush equalized in the 64th minute, collecting a long pass on the left wing before cutting inside and shooting with his right foot from an acute angle for a stunning solo goal.

“We created a lot of chances without being able to score early, but in the end everything worked out,” Marmoush said.

“We kept a good mindset and finished the game strong. We will learn from everything that happened in tonight’s game.”

Substitute Ahmed Zizo should have headed home at the back post following Mohamed Hamdy’s inviting cross, but he put his effort wide and missed again four minutes from time when Salah gave him a good chance.

It was up to Salah to secure all three points, holding off his marker to regain control of the ball – before slotting it home for his first goal since the start of last month.

In the next round of Group B fixtures, Egypt will meet South Africa in Agadir on Boxing Day while Zimbabwe and Angola face off in Marrakech on Friday.