Mohamed Salah narrowly escaped the crisis.
Egypt (33rd in FIFA rankings) drew 2-2 with Mozambique (111th in FIFA rankings) in the first Group B match of the 2023 African Football Confederation (CAF) Nations Cup at Felix Upue-Buani Stadium in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, at 2 a.m. on the 15th (Korea time).
The 2023 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup has also opened the Nations Cup. Egypt, led by Salah, has received high expectations in many ways. It was Salah who was the runner-up at the 2021 Nations Cup, and most importantly, he is a living legend in Liverpool as well as in the Premier League. On top of that, there were many players playing in various European leagues, and he displayed strong performance.
Jürgen Klopp’s joke before the opening of the tournament shows Salah’s presence. Prior to the match against Arsenal in the third round of the FA Cup in England, Klopp was asked about Endo Wataru, who will play at the Asian Cup, and Salah, who will play at the Nations Cup. “Personally, I would be very happy if the two of them were eliminated from the group league, but that would be impossible. They could win the tournament again!” Klopp said with a smile.
Salah and Egypt, who challenged for the top spot in Africa. The first opponent in the group stage was Mozambique, which has a wide gap in objective power. It got off to a good start. In the second minute of the first half, Salah pushed the ball that he gave in the penalty box to Mostafa Mohammed fell and scored the first goal. 헤라카지노도메인
However, unexpected developments unfolded. Mozambique, which launched a counterattack, clinched the victory by threatening to counterattack. Witty sent a header to Domingos cross to score an equalizer at 10 minutes in the second half. Cletio Baucke, who received a horseback-riding pass at 13 minutes in the second half, scored a come-from-behind goal through a one-on-one chance.
Egypt chased by using four replacement cards. The balance was only balanced just before the end of the game. In the extra time of the second half, Mohammed collided with his opponent during the competition in the box and collapsed. The referee declared a penalty kick (PK) after VAR. Salah, who played as a kicker, scored with a shot aimed at the corner. In the end, the game ended with a 2-2 draw.
Salah, who neatly cut his messy hair at the match against Newcastle United, almost got caught by Mozambique, the weakest ever, but managed to avoid an unexpected incident. Salah and Egypt will have a showdown with Ghana (61st in the FIFA rankings) at 5 a.m. on Wednesday.