Egypt captain Mohammed Salah converted a late penalty kick to rescue Egypt from a 2-2 draw against Mozambique in their opening group B game of the CAF Africa Cup of Nations Côte d’Ivoire 2023.
The Pharaohs started brightly with an early goal through Mohamed Mostafa’s strike, but the Mambas came into the second half much stronger with determination.
They rallied in the second half with goals from Witness João Quembo and Clésio Baúque in the 55th and 58th minutes, respectively.
However, deep into the extra time, Domingos Macandza’s missed kick brought down Mostafa Mohammed – a VAR review confirmed Egypt deserved a penalty.
Salah made no mistake to slot in his spot kick for his first goal of the tournament as he helped the Phaphroahs nick a point.
In Group B’s other encounter, Garry Rodrigues’ late goal handed Cape Verde a 2-1 victory as they secured maximum points against the Black Stars of Ghana.
Cape Verde took a deserved lead in the 17th minute through Jamiro Monteiro. The former Philadelphia Union midfielder tapped home from a loose ball from goalkeeper Richard Ofori.
Alexander Djiku levelled the scoreline for the Black Stars. However, his goal was not enough – after Garry Rodrigues scored late in stoppage time.
As a result, Cape Verde tops Group B on three points, followed by Egypt, Mozambique and Ghana, respectively.
Egypt will play Ghana on Thursday, January 18, at the Felix Houphouet Boigny Stadium – whilst Cape Verde takes on Mozambique on Friday at the same venue.
#AFCON2023 Group B standings after Matchday 1️⃣
— #AFCON2023WithBittar (@bittar32) January 14, 2024
🇨🇻Cape Verde 3️⃣ ⁺¹
🇪🇬Egypt 1️⃣ ⁰
🇲🇿Mozambique 1️⃣ ⁰
🇬🇭Ghana 0️⃣ ⁻¹#TotalEnergieAFCON2023 pic.twitter.com/EAfHrIeEbI
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