ABIDJAN – Egypt coach Rui Vitoria blamed a brief lack of concentration for his side’s surprise 2-2 draw with Mozambique in their opening Group B game of the CAF Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Abidjan, with Mohamed Salah sparing their blushes with a late penalty.
The Liverpool talisman converted the spot-kick seven minutes into stoppage time to help Egypt avoid their first ever loss to Mozambique, who had fallen behind to a second-minute strike from Mostafa Mohamed but roared back with two quick-fire goals in the second half.
“We lost concentration for three minutes, but we are still in the race to qualify; nothing is lost,” Vitoria told beIN Sports.
Although Nantes striker Mohamed opened the scoring with a fine shot on the turn, Egypt never really clicked into gear.
Apart from a Mahmoud Trezeguet effort that hit the outside of the post, Mozambique were barely troubled at the back in the first half.
“The weather in Africa is different; humidity is high and the concentration drops,” the Portuguese coach added according to Reuters. “The best thing is that we learn early, so we know our mistakes before the crucial rounds, like the quarter-finals or the round of 16.”
Salah, who was deployed as a deep-lying forward rather than a right winger for the most part, was also subdued while Mozambique looked lively going forward, repeatedly outmuscling Egypt’s feeble midfield and exposing their defensive flanks.
“Each match has a different situation; the teams may not be at their best on a given day, but we have to prepare well for the match against Ghana,” Vitoria added.
Vitoria noted that their opponents gave them a lot of tactical problems and they were up against a team that had a good midfield.
“Mozambique has a solid team, I said it before meeting them and that’s what happened,” Vitoria said according to cafonline.
“They gave us a lot of tactical problems with this low pack. This team has excellent elements in midfield. They found gaps in us and they took advantage of it.”
The Pharaohs will clash with the Black Stars of Ghana on Thursday at the Felix Houphouet Boigny stadium in Abidjan. Mozambique will face Cape Verde also on Thursday
Regarding his side’s defensive errors, Vitoria said they would need to urgently work on these as they would be punished severely against teams like Ghana if they are not prepared.
“It’s going to be a different story. We will have to reduce the spaces and be more concentrated because against an experienced team like Ghana, the slightest mistake is paid dearly,” added the Portuguese coach.
“We were so close. The result was almost in our hands. However, it is up to us to work harder so that this does not happen again,” said Mozambique’s coach Conde Chiquinho.
After conceding in as early as the second minute, Chiquinho says the goal did not startle his side.
“The opening goal did not disturb our plan. It actually it motivated us to play even harder”.
Concluding his remarks on the match, Chiquinho said even though they managed to hold the former champions to a draw, he was not satisfied with getting a point in a match that he feels could have gone their way.
“I feel like I have completed my task. We are sad and that is a good thing because we are not satisfied with what we got today” concluded the Mozambican tactician.
With more than 30 touches of the ball, Guima was the man in all the offensive phases of their drama-filled 2-2 draw.
When receiving the Man of the Match trophy, Mozambique midfielder Guima said: “It’s an indescribable feeling. I’m so proud to be here. I am proud of my team. We stood up to Egypt. We want to showcase Mozambican talent to the world.”
This draw against the Pharaohs will serve as a springboard for the rest of the competition according to Guima.
“We really believe we will go far, we think big, we know we can beat any team” Guima stated.
Egypt captain, Salah scored late to rescue Egypt from a Mozambique shock in their opening group D game.
It took the 7-time champions just two minutes to get into the lead thanks to Mohamed Mostafa’s strike.
Mohammed Salah failed to connect to a cross from Mohamed Hamdi but Mostafa was just there to swivel a shot into the bottom corner.
Mostafa once again was put through by Salah but his final effort was saved by goalkeeper Ernan Siluane.
Mozambique came close to getting their first goal after Mohamed Abdelmonem was forced to put the ball into his own net but Mohamed el-Shenawy managed to save the situation.
The Mambas came into the second half much stronger.
Witness Quembo headed home the equalizer for Mozambique. A bullet header beat the palm of El Shenawy after a lovely cross from Domingos on the 55th minutes
The goal is Mozambique’s first in the last 14 years.
Three minutes later, Clesio Bauque added Mozambique’s second. He broke through the Egyptian to set up a one-on-one with El Shenawy to score.
Domingos Macandza brought down Mostafa Mohammed in the closing stages of the game and after VAR review, Egypt were awarded a penalty.
Salah stepped up and scored for Egypt to draw them level.
