Ahmed Zizo on replacing Liverpool star Mo Salah in victory over Togo as Egypt go top of Afcon group G
Ahmed Sayed Zizo has expressed his gratitude thanking Hossam El-Badry for starting him against Togo in replacement of Mohamed Salah.
Salah was ruled out of Egypt’s clashes against Togo in the November international break after testing positive for COVID-19 on two occasions.
However, Egypt managed to cope without the Liverpool star as they earned a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Togo on Saturday.
Mahmoud Hamdy El-Wensh’s second-half header was enough for Egypt to claim their first win in Group G of the 2021 AFCON qualifiers.
Mohamed Salah’s replacement against Togo was Zamalek winger Ahmed Sayed Zizo, performed well in his fourth cap on Saturday.
Speaking after the game, Zizo said: “The victory over Togo is the beginning of the restoration of confidence for the team and the fans.
“Our team is strong and includes a special group of players from Al Ahly and Zamalek, the finalists of the CAF Champions League and Pyramids FC, who played the Confederation Cup final,” he added.
On replacing Mohamed Salah, he said: “I offer good performances with Zamalek in the league and the Champions League, and I strive and appreciate the confidence that Hossam El-Badry gave me, and I will try to repay his faith in me.
“I want to send a message to the Al Ahly and Zamalek fans. The closest pair to me in the national team are Afsha and Mohamed Hany, and Mohamed El-Shennawy is always training with Mostafa Mohamed and I sleep in the same room as Afsha, in the end, it is football and everyone should have sportsmanship.”
Following their first win in the qualifiers, Egypt went top of the standings with five points, equal on points with Comoros, and two ahead of third-placed Kenya.
Their following game will be against bottom-placed Togo in Lome on November 17.
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