Mohamed Salah’s injury-time penalty saved Egypt’s blushes as they played out to a 2-2 draw against Mozambique in their Group B opener at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.

At the Felix Houphouet Boigny Stadium in Abidjan, the referee used video assistant replays (VAR) to determine that Mostafa Mohamed had been fouled in the area. Salah’s penalty kept Mozambique from winning an AFCON in history.

“It was a very, very difficult game. I was sad seeing my players devastated at the end because we deserved the win,” said the Mozambique coach, Chiquinho Conde.

When Mohamed scored within the first two minutes of the Group B match, he gave record seven-time African champions Egypt the perfect start. However, the Pharaohs eventually seemed to succumb to the oppressive heat and humidity.

In the 55th minute, Witiness Quembo gave Mozambique, who had lost their previous four Cup of Nations matches in 12 attempts, an equaliser.

Three minutes later, Clesio Bauque, who had been brought on as a halftime substitute, scored again for Mozambique, turning the tide of the match 2-1.

Before the Liverpool star made his debut for his country, Egypt was not off to a strong start in Ivory Coast, where they are trying to win a record-breaking eighth AFCON title and their first since 2010. Salah saved Egypt, but it was not a convincing start to their campaign.

“I want to win every match I play and when we don’t I am sad, but there are no easy games,” said Egypt coach Rui Vitoria.

“We were not the best team before the draw was made and we are not the worst now.”

Before their final group game against Cape Verde, their next game here on Thursday against Ghana still has the potential to make or break their campaign.

In addition to defeating Mozambique in their 1998 match, Egypt had previously defeated the country in 1986 and 2010 to win the title.

The Pharaohs, who finished second to Senegal in the previous season, took advantage of their first opportunity when Mohamed, a striker for Nantes, controlled the ball, turned, and fired it inside the box after Salah had missed a clear header from a cross from Mohamed Hamdy.

Egypt attempted to turn the tide in the 25th minute when Mahmoud Trezeguet struck a shot that went just wide of the post, but as halftime drew near, it seemed like the weather was getting worse.

Late in the first half, Mozambique had their moments, and Egyptian custodian Mohamed El Shenawy made a great save at one point to prevent Hamdy from scoring an own goal.

After the break, Mozambique’s coach Conde made two substitutions, including the addition of Clesio, a former Benfica winger, to create a three-man central defence.

Quembo, also known as “Witi,” equalised the score when he unopposedly rose at the near post to head in a cross from Domingos Macandza’s right, with El Shenawy only able to assist the ball as it travelled.

Then, Clesio came charging through to make it 2-1 and appeared destined to be the one to give his nation its first-ever tournament victory.

They were prevented from scoring by the Mauritanian referee, who determined that Macandza had fouled Mohamed in the area at the last second, allowing Salah to score from the spot.

Nevertheless, man of the match winner Guima, a midfielder for Mozambique, stated his team will have great confidence after their performance.

“We are not thinking small, we are thinking big, and like we showed today, we are ready to fight against everyone and you can count on us,” he said.

Photo by Weam Mostafa/BackpagePix