Mohamed Salah put Liverpool’s controversy behind them with a dramatic win against Zimbabwe in their opening AFCON game.
Published December 23, 2025
Mohamed Salah scored a dramatic stoppage-time goal as Egypt came from behind to beat Zimbabwe 2-1 in the first leg of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) final in Morocco on Monday.
The Egypt captain, who started in the first match against Liverpool after starting on the bench for four games in a row, scored a left-footed goal in the 91st minute to give the seven-time champions a late victory after Zimbabwe took the lead in the first half and dominated.
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Egypt laid siege to Zimbabwe’s goal from the start, but it was on the back foot that Prince Dube opened the scoring in the 20th minute.
The final victory rested with the Egyptian Premier League team of Omar Marmouche and talisman Salah, who scored the equalizer in the 64th minute.
Salah entered the tournament in Morocco under the spotlight following his outburst after being dropped by the Premier League champions, but struggled to find his rhythm for much of the game at the Grande Stade d’Agadir. But in a crucial moment, he brought home the winner and Egypt moved to the top of Group B with South Africa beating Angola 2-1 in Marrakech.
This was enough for Egypt to break a string of six consecutive draws in the previous two Nations Cups.
They put a lot of pressure on Zimbabwe, creating four chances in the first 10 minutes, but they fell behind when Emmanuel Jaray fed the ball inside and Dube held onto the ball and fired a shot into the bottom left corner.
Daniel Mousendami’s pace created a dangerous chance for Washington Navala, and Egyptian goalkeeper Mohamed El Shenawy could have made it 2-0 by somehow collecting it before it crossed the goal line.
marmoose sole effect
In the 64th minute, Marmouche picked up a long pass on the left, cut inside and fired a shot with his right foot from an acute angle for a wonderful solo goal to level the score.
“We didn’t score early and created a lot of chances, but in the end it all worked out,” Marmusch said.
“We kept a good mindset and were able to finish the game strong. We’re going to learn from everything that happened in tonight’s game.”
Substitute Ahmed Zizo should have headed home Mohamed Hamdi’s inviting cross at the back post, but his shot went wide and then missed again four minutes from time when Salah created a golden opportunity.
It was left to Salah to grab the three points, keeping his markers at bay, controlling the ball and scoring his first goal since early last month.
In the next matches in Group B, Egypt will face South Africa in Agadir on Boxing Day, before Zimbabwe and Angola clash in Marrakech on Friday.
