EGYPT 2-2 MOZAMBIQUE: SALAH’S LAST-GASP PENALTY SALVAGE A POINT FOR PHARAOHS
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By Ajape Sefiu A.
In their opening Group B match in Abidjan, Egypt managed to escape a shocking loss to Mozambique, thanks to a stoppage-time penalty scored by Mohamed Salah.
With goals from Witi and Clesio in the second half, Mozambique turned the tide of the match after Mostafa Mohamed gave the seven-time AFCON champions an early lead.
However, seven minutes into injury time, Salah scored from the spot after a VAR check determined that Mohamed had been fouled, dashing Mozambique’s hopes of a historic victory.
Egypt scored their first goal just two minutes, coming out of the starting blocks. After Salah mis-hit a cross, Mohamed was able to seize the opportunity and throw Edmilson Dove aside before hitting low into the bottom corner.
When Salah burst from a Mozambique attack and threaded the ball to Mohamed, they almost doubled their lead, but Mohamed’s attempt was straight at the goalkeeper.
Witi missed a golden opportunity to give Egypt a bigger lead when he sliced the ball wide, and Mahmoud Trezeguet then hammered the ball off the post.
Mohamed El Shenawy had to respond when Mohamed Hamdy made a sloppy attempt at clearing the ball; the Pharaohs goalkeeper had to scrape the ball over the crossbar to keep his team ahead.
Though El Shenawy managed to get a hand to the ball but was unable to stop it, Mozambique persisted in pressing in the second half and were rewarded in the 55th minute when Witi scored a header into the bottom corner after Domingos Macandza’s cross found him.
Three minutes later, following a smart team play, Clesio ducked under Ahmed Hegazi’s challenge, broke through the middle, and slotted past El Shenawy to give the Mambas the lead.
Egypt’s Zizo struck wide from outside the box, and they kept trying to equalize, with Hamdy Fathy sending the ball past the post and Salah, who was unmarked, slicing wide.
Deep into stoppage time, Egypt was awarded a late penalty after a VAR check for a foul on Mohamed, and Salah scored from the spot to ultimately crush Mozambique’s dreams of a historic victory.
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