Mohamed Salah: Egypt Will Continue to Fight Despite Not Being a Favorite in the AFCON

Mohamed Salah emphasizes teamwork and effort following the victory in extra time, saying Egypt is not the favorites even if they made it to the quarterfinals.

The forward for Egypt, Mohamed Salah, has downplayed his nation’s prospects of winning the Africa Cup of Nations, stating that the team will keep fighting even though they are not the favorites.

Salah made a statement following his goal in Monday’s 3-1 victory over Benin in extra time, which guaranteed Egypt’s spot in the tournament’s quarterfinals in Morocco.

The Liverpool forward stated that the team’s youth and a number of players’ lack of elite experience should be taken into consideration when setting expectations.

“I don’t think we are favorites at all (to win the title),” Salah stated to the media.

“The majority of our young players are Egyptian athletes. Everyone does their best, as you can see today, but we only fight for our nation.

Despite their pursuit of a record eighth overall and their first AFCON trophy since 2010, Hossam Hassan’s team emphasized that no game in the competition is easy.

“I told the guys yesterday that no team loses by four or five goals, and the level is quite equal. Both the team and the coach are excellent in Benin. I’m happy that we were able to prevail.

In 22 AFCON games, the 33-year-old has already scored 10 goals, one more than current coach Hassan and two less than Egypt’s all-time tournament leading scorer Hassan El Shazly.

On Saturday, Egypt will play either Burkina Faso or Ivory Coast, the reigning champions, in the quarterfinals in Agadir.