Mohamed Salah second half volley against Guinea Bissau rescues Egypt from Afcon anxiety
Egypt have put their 2021 Africa Cup of Nations campaign back on track following a narrow 1-0 victory over Guinea-Bissau, thanks to Mohamed Salah’s winner.
The Pharaohs entered the game under a lot of pressure following their disappointing result and performance in their opening game against Nigeria.
Guinea-Bissau, on the other hand, missed a huge chance to get the three against Sudan, having missed a late penalty, which would have boosted their chance of reaching the knockout rounds.
Not only The Djurtus had to get any points from their clash against Egypt, but they were forced to play without a number of their players, including keeper Maurice Gomis and striker Joseph Mendes, who started against Sudan, as well as Nanu, Alfa Semedo, Mimito Biai, and head coach Baciro Candé after they all tested positive for COVID-19.
On the Egypt side, Carlos Queiroz received a huge boost ahead of the game after Amr El-Sulya was declared fit for the game; however, both full-backs Ahmed Fetouh and Akram were ruled out of the game due to injuries.
El-Sulya was put straight into the team to replace Hamdi Fathi beside Mohamed Elneny in the midfield, while Omar Kamal started at right-back instead of Tawfik, and Ayman Ashraf for Fetouh at left-back.
Moreover, Abdallah El-Said made his first appearance as he was brought into the starting XI, replacing Mahmoud Trezeguet at the attacking midfielder spot, while the rest of the team remained unchanged.
Egypt looked much a better team than the one played against Nigeria and a strike from Mohamed Salah just two minutes into the game saw the Liverpool star hit the post.
Totally dominating the midfield, Egypt were creating several chances, but couldn’t break Guinea Bissau’s defence and once again hit the post in the 17th minute.
Mohamed Salah found Omar Marmoush with a brilliant through ball, before the Stuttgart man played the ball down to Mostafa Mohamed, whose first-time effort rebounded off the post.
The Pharaohs kept searching for the opening goal as Omar Marmoush, Amr El-Sulya, and Mohamed Salah had their efforts whether going wide or denied by the keeper.
However, the most controversial moment of the first half came just after the half-hour mark when Jefferson Encada brought down Marmoush, who was through on goal, but came out with just a yellow card. Despite the Egyptian protests, the referee refused to show out the red card, with the VAR confirming his decision.
At half-time, Egypt suffered yet another injury, but this time it was Mahmoud Hamdy El-Wensh, who had to be replaced by Mohamed Abdelmoniem.
The first 15 minutes of the second half was quiet, which forced Queiroz to bring on Mahmoud Trezeguet and Ahmed Sayed Zizo for Mostafa Mohamed and Abdallah El-Said.
Zizo once again proved to be a game-changer and almost found the back of the net in the 64th minute, but his effort went wide.
But finally, five minutes later, Mohamed Salah broke the curse and scored Egypt’s first goal in four games with a first-time volley after a brilliant through ball from Amr El-Sulya.
The goal marked Mohamed Salah’s first for Egypt since his brace against Comoros in March 2021 and the first under head coach Carlos Queiroz.
Egypt thought they put the game to bed just five minutes later after Ahmed Sayed Zizo volleyed Omar Kamal’s cross, but for the third time, the Pharaohs were denied by the post.
Keen on defending his lead, Queiroz brought on Mohamed Sherif and Hamdi Fathi for Omar Marmous and Mohamed Elneny in the 79th minute.
While the game was heading into a comfortable win for Egypt, Guinea-Bissau shocked them with a stunning goal through Balde, who stole the ball from Omar Kamal, before his curling effort beat El-Shennawy.
After wild celebrations, the Egyptians led by Salah demanded the referee to go back to the VAR, and after doing so, he chalked the goal off for a foul on Omar Kamal.
That wasn’t the end of it, Guinea-Bissau had another long effort that was brilliantly turned away by Mohamed El-Shennawy in the dying moments of the game, before the referee brought the game to an end.
The victory moved Egypt to the second-place spot behind leaders Nigeria, who earlier had beaten Sudan 3-1 to qualify for the knockout rounds.
Egypt now can’t finish higher than second in the group, which will make them face the winner of group E, which includes Algeria, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, and Sierra Leone.
Egypt XI: Mohamed El-Shenawy, Omar Kamal, Mahmoud El-Wensh, Ahmed Hegazi, Ayman Ashraf, Amr El-Sulya, Mohamed Elneny, Abdallah El-Said, Mohamed Salah, Omar Marmoush, Mostafa Mohamed.
Guinea Bissau XI: Jonas Menes, Encada, Cande, Bura, Sori Mane, Sangante, Cassama, Camara, Ambri, Piqueti, Mama Balde.
