Mohamed Salah stated this Sunday that he is convinced he will win the Africa Cup of Nations with Egypt “sooner or later,” but he acknowledged that the team needs to improve to achieve it in this year’s edition, where he is currently sidelined due to injury. The Liverpool forward spoke to journalists ahead of the crucial final group stage match against Cape Verde on Monday, which Egypt needs to win to secure qualification for the knockout stages.
However, Rui Vitória cannot count on Salah for the match in Abidjan, as the captain is recovering from a tendon injury that forced him to exit in the first half of the 2-2 draw against Ghana on Thursday.
“I would love to win, for sure,” Salah said when asked about what winning the AFCON would mean to add to the medals he has earned at Liverpool. “I’ve won everything possible, but not this one yet. It will happen somehow; that’s what I believe, and whatever I believe, I can achieve, so sooner or later, it will happen.”
Salah made his debut for Egypt in 2011, a year after the country secured its seventh AFCON title. He was part of the teams that lost in the finals in Gabon in 2017 and the last edition in Cameroon two years ago, and now he is determined to take a step forward this time.
“Everyone knows what it means for any player to win an Africa Cup of Nations,” said the 31-year-old player. “We were not lucky in the last edition and also in Gabon. The players are highly motivated to win the tournament. We all want to win.”
However, Rui Vitória’s team has not convinced so far in Ivory Coast, needing Salah’s penalty in injury time to draw 2-2 with Mozambique in the opening match, and then having to come from behind twice against Ghana.
If they beat Cape Verde, who has already secured the top spot in Group B, Egypt will advance to the Round of 16 in San Pedro on January 28. Salah is also ruled out for this match and is expected to return for the quarterfinals on February 2 or 3, should Egypt progress that far.
“We are not doing a good job, but we have a fantastic team and a great coach, so we just have to stay focused,” Salah said. “I believe with hard work, anything is possible, so we just need to win one game to qualify and go from there. My injury is still there, but the most important thing now is to talk about the game. We are very positive; we have great players and a great team, and we just need to fight and see what happens.”
Salah’s place in the starting lineup may be filled by Mostafa Fathi from Cairo’s Pyramids, who replaced him against Ghana.
