Mohamed Salah makes Egypt admission after tough AFCON victory vs South Africa
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Liverpool IconLiverpool FC NewsFeaturesMohamed SalahThe Liverpool star scored the winning goal in each of Egypt's opening two group matches in Morocco, but the seven-time champions will need to raise their levels in the latter stages of the competitionMohamed Salah admitted Egypt had to come through a tough game against South Africa at AFCONMohamed Salah admitted Egypt had to navigate a tricky game in which it was “dominated” for long spells by South Africa on Boxing Day.The Pharaohs emerged from a tough second group match at the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) with a credible 1-0 win, thanks to Salah’s converted 45th-minute penalty. But Egypt had to play with 10 men for the entire second period after Mohamed Hany was shown a second yellow card in first-half injury-time.South Africa pushed to find an equalizer, but despite amassing 62 percent possession and managing 16 shots, couldn’t find a decisive goal.
The win means Egypt sits top of Group B and is guaranteed a place in the knockout stages, which begin next Saturday.READ MORE: Virgil van Dijk requested Liverpool legend was one to hand him Premier League trophyREAD MORE: Jamie Carragher slammed for 'incredible' Mohamed Salah comments after Liverpool outburst“I'm very happy for the result, for sure. It was a tough game, they dominated most of the time,” Salah said post-match, as per the National.“It's a team that can keep the ball for a long time so I think we had a good game plan.
Hopefully we can carry on like this.”Salah has scored in each of his first two AFCON games(Image: AFP or licensors)Salah has been on target in each of Egypt's AFCON wins and he scored the decisive strike in second-half injury-time against Zimbabwe on Monday.It is certainly an impressive start to a competition Salah is aiming to win for the first time in his stellar career. Egypt has won AFCON more than any other nation, but its last victory came in 2010.The Liverpool star is enjoying a break from the spotlight that has shone a tad too brightly at club level in recent weeks.Salah's Liverpool future still looks uncertain after his comments criticizing the club(Image: (Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images))The winger’s controversial comments in the Elland Road mixed zone resulted in him being dropped from the Liverpool squad that traveled to Inter Milan a few days later.Salah was included in the squad against Brighton & Hove Albion two weeks ago and was introduced off the bench in the 26th minute.It’s understood that Liverpool is continuing to evaluate the 33-year-old situation while he is at AFCON.Meanwhile, Egypt ends its group campaign with a clash against Angola on Monday.