Mohamed Salah, the captain of the Egyptian national team and star of Liverpool FC, acknowledged that his country's team did not meet expectations in the first two rounds of the Africa Cup of Nations. However, he expressed optimism for improvement in the upcoming matches. After losing 1-0 to Nigeria in the opening match, Egypt's performance improved, but they needed Salah's goal to win narrowly by the same scoreline today against Guinea-Bissau, which had a late goal disallowed after a VAR review.
In televised statements following his selection as the best player of the match, Salah said, "I am happy with the victory, and it doesn't matter who scores or who doesn't. I try to contribute as much as I can, and the most important thing is that we achieved the win. We were a bit lucky at the end, and God willing, we will have better results and performances in the future."
The Premier League top scorer added, "I hope to face difficulties better. The performance in the last two matches has not been the best. The teams in Africa are good and play well; they all have professionals, and we are one of the teams with the fewest professionals in the tournament, but I am optimistic for what is to come."
Egypt now has three points and ranks second in Group D, behind Nigeria, which leads with six points, before playing their final match against Sudan next Wednesday. Salah, who hit the post two minutes into the game, stated, "We needed to win the match to focus on reaching as far as we can in the tournament. As everyone follows, the competition is very tough. Things will be difficult, and we will do our best." The post denied Egypt three attempts, including one from Salah and another from Mostafa Mohamed in the first half, along with a shot from substitute Ahmed Sayed (Zizo).
