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A late Mohamed Salah winner rescued victory for Egypt and denied a resilient Zimbabwe, as the Pharaohs came from behind to claim a 2–1 win in their opening match of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).
Egypt, seven-time AFCON champions, dominated the opening stages, with Salah at the heart of everything. Within the first 19 minutes, the Liverpool forward twice delivered inviting crosses to the far post.
FULL-TIME! 🇪🇬🇿🇼
Egypt turn things around. A 2-1 win over Zimbabwe! 🤩#TotalEnergiesAFCON2025 | @tecnomobile pic.twitter.com/n9tRetwtvm
— TotalEnergies AFCON 2025 (@CAF_Online) December 22, 2025
On the first occasion, Trézéguet’s header was brilliantly tipped onto the crossbar by Zimbabwe goalkeeper Washington Arubi, while moments later Emam Ashour volleyed wide after being left unmarked by a similar delivery from Salah.
Against the run of play, Zimbabwe struck first.
Prince Dube produced a fine piece of control to bring down Emmanuel Jalai’s pass into the box before calmly slotting past Ahmed El Shenawy, stunning the Egyptian defence.
Egypt responded with urgency but struggled to convert its dominance into goals.
Omar Marmoush’s long-range thunderbolt forced Arubi into another fine save, while Salah fired over from the edge of the area on the stroke of half-time.
The Pharaohs maintained complete control after the restart, and their pressure finally told.
A long ball released Marmoush down the left, and the Manchester City forward surged into the box before lashing his effort into the roof of the net to restore parity.
While Zimbabwe’s stubborn defence had been breached, the Warriors continued to show resilience.
Substitute Zizo squandered Egypt’s best chance in the closing stages, heading well over after meeting a delightful cross from Mohamed Hamdy, while further wasteful efforts from Salah and Marmoush threatened to derail Egypt’s hopes of a winning start.
However, deep into stoppage time, Salah delivered the decisive moment, firing home from 10 yards to seal the comeback victory and deny Zimbabwe a historic opening-day point.
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