Salah helps Egypt qualify for Africa Cup of Nations
Egypt came from a goal behind to beat a spirited Guinea team to reserve a place for next year’s event.
Egypt has come from behind to beat Guinea to secure a record-extending 26th appearance in the Africa Cup of Nations.
Egypt beat Guinea 2-1 on Wednesday to secure first place in their qualifying group with a game in hand. It is the eighth country to qualify for next year’s 24-team event in Ivory Coast.
Guinea, who needed a draw to qualify, took the lead in the 26th minute after a smooth pass into the penalty area was finished from close range by Serhou Guirassy.
Almost immediately after the restart, the Egyptian Mahmoud Trezeguet fired a shot that the goalkeeper of Guinea parried. The ball fell to captain Mohamed Salah, but the Liverpool striker skied the ball over the crossbar from close range.
However, Salah recovered not long after by playing in Trezeguet from the right, who scored with a neat outside of the foot for the equaliser.
Guinea had a few chances in the second half and looked livelier until the 78th minute when Mostafa Mohamed received the ball unmarked in the penalty area and fired a fierce shot into the top right corner of the goal for the winner.
The victory sees Egypt finish top of Group D and return for another shot at the African crown, which they have won a record seven times.
The match took place in Marrakesh, Morocco, where Guinea was forced to move from their home stadium, which was found unfit for competition by Confederation of African Football inspectors.
A loss for Guinea, on nine points, opens the door for one of the other two teams in the group, Ethiopia and Malawi, who each have three and play on Tuesday.
The winner of that match then has a chance to catch up, but in the event of a draw, Guinea qualifies.
Other results
Gambia, who were the surprise package of the last tournament where they reached the quarter-finals on their debut appearance, boosted their chances of a return after a dramatic final goal gave them a 3-2 victory over South Sudan.
The Gambia has climbed to nine points in group G and shares first place with Mali, which will face Congo in Brazzaville on Sunday.
Guinea Bissau’s 1-0 victory over Sao Tome e Principe earlier on Wednesday in the Lusophone derby boosted their chances of qualifying for Group A, where they have moved up to 10 points after five games with a one-point lead over Nigeria.
Another seven qualifying matches will be played on Saturday in the penultimate round.