Mohamed Salah showed his killer instinct to score a stoppage-time winner as Egypt came from behind to beat Zimbabwe in their opening match at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).
The Liverpool forward’s trophy cabinet is stuffed with silverware from his time at Anfield but he is yet to lift the AFCON trophy with the Pharaohs, and for large parts of the game in Morocco it looked as if this campaign was likely to get off to an inauspicious start.
While Salah is nicknamed the Egyptian King, it was Prince Dube’s first-half strike which handed the Warriors the lead against the run of play in Agadir.
A combination of poor Egypt finishing and good goalkeeping from 40-year-old Washington Arubi gave the southern African side hope of pulling off a shock before Manchester City striker Omar Marmoush hammered home in the 64th minute to level things up.
And as the clocked ticked into stoppage time it was Salah who latched on to a loose ball in the penalty area to poke home and seal three points for the seven-time champions.
Egypt will hope to improve their finishing when they face South Africa in their next Group B encounter back in Agadir on Friday, while Zimbabwe travel to Marrakesh to take on Angola.
Now 33, and having lost in two previous finals, Salah will hope that playing on North African soil in Morocco will aid his chances of lifting the trophy.
He was at the heart of most of Egypt’s best work in the first half, floating two enticing crosses to the far post that Trezeguet and Emam Ashour failed to convert, with Trezeguet’s header palmed on to the underside of the bar by Arubi.
Marmoush was also heavily involved, stinging Arubi’s fingers with a long-range rocket that needed tipping over before blazing an inviting opportunity too high from the edge of the area.
But the opening period’s standout moment came in the 20th minute when Dube did brilliantly to control a cross from the right while simultaneously spinning inside the box, side-footing home with his left foot once the rangy midfielder found himself facing goal.
In an incredibly open encounter, Zimbabwe spent much of their time mounting a rearguard action as the Premier League pairing of Marmoush and Salah helped carve out chance after chance.
The Warriors and their fans must have been thinking about the possibility of a first-ever AFCON clean sheet before Marmoush finally found the target, driving in from the left flank and smashing the ball high into the roof of the net from a tight angle with just over an hour gone.
While frontman Macauley Bonne, who plays in England’s eighth tier for Maldon & Tiptree, was left to plough a lone furrow up top for Zimbabwe, Egypt continued to create openings, with Zizo and Salah both guilty of passing up opportunities.
But with the atmosphere inside the stadium seeming to dip in acceptance of a draw, Salah showed the awareness to find himself in the right place and the strength to hold off his man inside the area, poking home inside Arubi’s left post a minute into stoppage time.
It was a cruel reward for Zimbabwe’s heroic efforts, but Salah and Egypt’s fans will not care if it is the first act of a story that ultimately leads to AFCON glory in Rabat next month.
