Without Salah, Egypt struggles to prevail in the Cup of Nations

Mohamed Salah, Egypt’s star forward and resting captain, was severely missed as his team laboured to a 1-0 victory over Ethiopia on Friday in the last round of Africa Cup of Nations qualifying.

In scorching Cairo, the record seven-time African champions dominated possession but could only muster a goal from Mostafa Fathy in the 37th minute.

When Eintracht Frankfurt striker Omar Marmoush’s blistering close-range effort was parried by Ethiopian custodian Seid Aregawi, Fathy scored.

At the June 30 Stadium in the Egyptian capital, Egypt did manage to put the ball in the back of the net three times, but attempts by Hamdy Fathy and Sam Morsy were disallowed by the Gabonese referee for fouls.

Salah, a prolific Liverpool scorer who recently received a transfer request from the Saudi Arabian outfit Al Ittihad, is anticipated to go with his colleagues to Tunisia on September 12 for a friendly match.

Salah had played seven straight matches in the previous 23 days, so I decided to give him a well-deserved break, Egypt coach Rui Vitoria said during a press conference on the day of the game.

“Mohamed will re-join the team following the match against Ethiopia. With him, we cannot afford to take any unneeded chances.

The only thing on the line was pride because Ethiopia was eliminated at the same time as Egypt, whose last Cup of Nations victory came in 2010, had already clinched a spot in the finals three months prior.

Egypt’s victory atoned for their lone defeat in Group D, a 2-0 loss at Ethiopia last year that resulted in the firing of coach Ehab Galal and the appointment of Portuguese Vitoria.

The other group qualifiers, Guinea, finish up their six-match programme on Saturday in Malawi.

Similar to Egypt, Mali won five of its six games. To cap off a great Group G season, Mali thrashed South Sudan 4-0 in Bamako, with two goals from Komary Doumbia.

By drawing 0-0 away against already-qualified Burkina Faso, who played the game in Morocco because their country lacks an international-standard stadium, Eswatini completed an impressive run of Group B results.

Eswatini, who is currently in last place, drew all three away games against Togo, Cape Verde, and Burkina Faso but dropped all three of its home games.

The Ivory Coast and Senegal, the defending champions, are two of the 18 nations that have qualified for the African championship, which runs from January 13 to February 11.

On Saturday, Sunday, and Tuesday, the final six spots will be filled, with five-time champions Cameroon among those vying for a spot.