Mohamed Salah got Egypt off to a winning start in the Africa Cup of Nations by scoring late for 2-1 against Zimbabwe on Monday.
Salah captained the team in his first start for nearly a month and fired inside the bottom corner in stoppage time to spare Egypt embarrassment against a team ranked 129th in the world.
Egypt, the record seven-time Afcon champions, were thwarted for long periods in the coastal city of Agadir by Zimbabwe’s stubborn defending and an outstanding performance from goalkeeper Washington Arubi.
"We wasted several scoring chances and we didn't have luck on our side," Egypt coach Hossam Hassan said. "That's football. We were the better team throughout the match. Opening games are always difficult."
The goal marked a welcome relief for Salah, who departed for Afcon with his future at club side Liverpool in doubt after a public falling out with head coach Arne Slot.
In Group B’s early kick-off, second-half dominance by South Africa paid off when Burnley striker Lyle Foster netted on 79 minutes to deliver a 2-1 victory over Angola in Marrakesh.
The stage is now set for a top-of-the-table showdown between the Pharaohs and Bafana Bafana in Agadir on Friday. They have met three times in Afcon tournaments, with Egypt winning twice.
Prince Dube stunned the favourites Egypt in the 20th minute when he took Emmanuel Jalai’s cross with his first touch and spun around a defender to flick it past goalkeeper Mohamed El-Shenawy with his next.
Salah tried rallying his teammates to little avail. Hassan substituted Emam Ashour in the 33rd minute, leaving the midfielder in tears on the bench.
Arubi tipped over a fierce strike from Manchester City forward Omar Marmoush, Trezeguet dived in an attempt to win a penalty and was booked, then Salah, Marmoush, and Mostafa Mohamed – who had come on for the ineffective Ashour – all had efforts blocked before the break.
The game resumed in the same manner after until Marmoush finally found a way to score from a difficult angle in the 64th minute.
Salah’s winner gave the Pharaohs three points in Group B. The Liverpool star has never won Africa’s premier competition. This is his fifth edition.
"We created many chances without being able to score early, but in the end everything went well," Marmoush said.
"We kept a good mindset and finished the match strongly. We will learn from everything that happened in tonight’s game.”
Earlier, South Africa dominated the second half against Angola in Marrakesh and Foster scored in 79 minutes to deliver a 2-1 victory.
The winner came after Tshepang Moremi had a goal ruled offside and Mbekezeli Mbokazi rattled the crossbar with a shot that rebounded into play.
Oswin Appollis put 2024 Afcon bronze medallists South Africa ahead on 21 minutes and, as Angola took control, they levelled through Show after 35 minutes.
Victory ended a six-match winless run in their opening Afcon match since 2006 by South Africa. The win also confirmed their dominance over Angola with three victories and two draws in five Afcon meetings.
Belgian coach Hugo Broos, who guided Cameroon to the African title in 2017, admitted he was unhappy with the first-half Bafana performance.
"We had to avoid losing tonight because next up for us are Egypt. We led in the opening half and then we fell asleep," said Broos.
"We let Angola back into the game so we put something right during half time. In the second half we applied more pressure, there is more movement and we had chances.
"Tshepang [Moremi] was wonderful when he came on. Suddenly, there was speed in our team; we were dangerous. He was a threat and he did it very well in the second 45 minutes."
Patson Daka scored in stoppage time for 2012 champions Zambia to grab a 1-1 draw against Mali in the early Group A game in Casablanca.
Mali dominated and missed a penalty before the break when Willard Mwanza saved El Bilal Toure’s effort – the second saved penalty in as many games at the tournament.
Lassine Sinayoko finally broke the deadlock around the hour mark, but Daka had the final say with a header to earn Zambia a point in Group A.
Mali coach Tom Saintfiet admitted that conceding a late equaliser was "very painful".
Hosts Morocco, who opened the tournament on Sunday with a 2-0 win over Comoros, have three points and Mali and Zambia one each.
There are four matches on Tuesday, including 2024 runners-up Nigeria against Tanzania in Fes and 2022 champions Senegal against Botswana in Tangier.
