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Egypt skipper Mohamed Salah has given his support to head coach Carlos Queiroz and his teammates following the Pharaohs’ slow start to the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations.
After a disappointing result and performance in their opening game against Nigeria, Egypt put their 2021 AFCON campaign back on track following a narrow 1-0 victory over Guinea-Bissau.
READ: I don’t care who scores, the future is better, says Mohamed Salah
The winner came in the 69th minute through star man Mohamed Salah, who latched on a brilliant assist from Amr El-Sulya, before his first-time volley beat Jonas Mendes.
The goal marked Mohamed Salah’s first for Egypt since his brace against Comoros in March 2021 and the first under head coach Carlos Queiroz.
His performance earned him the Man of the Match award, but the Liverpool star made sure to only speak about the team in his post-match press conference and defend the head coach and his teammates.
“The coach has not been with us three months ago and there are new players that have joined the Egyptian national team,” Salah said.
“I don’t know how many players started a match with the national team for the first time in the Africa Cup of Nations.
“We hadn’t had new players since 2010 and this was a difficult challenge for the coach. We had to arrange things in order to appear better.
“We have to fight in this very difficult tournament. All the teams know how to play football and they have many players in Europe.
“We must believe in our abilities and our chances, fight as much as we can and see where we go in the tournament,” he concluded.
Salah has now scored in three different AFCONs, becoming the sixth Egyptian player to do so after Hassan El-Shazly, Taha Basry, Hassan Shehata, Hossam Hassan, and Ahmed Hassan.
READ: Carlos Queiroz dedicates victory to fans, promises improvements
Meanwhile, the victory moved Egypt to the second-place spot behind leaders Nigeria, who earlier had beaten Sudan 3-1 to qualify for the knockout rounds.
Egypt now can’t finish higher than second in the group, which will make them face the winner of group E, which includes Algeria, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, and Sierra Leone.
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