Despite his injury and Egypt’s mixed start at the Africa Cup of Nations, Mohamed Salah remains convinced he will win the tournament “sooner or later”.
The two-time African Player of the Year has never won the Africa Cup, he came close in the last edition and in 2017, but Egypt lost in the final each time. “I’ve won everything, but this is the only thing I haven’t won yet,” the Liverpool star said on Sunday. “One way or another, it will happen. That’s what I believe. And whatever I believe, I achieve. So it will happen. It will happen sooner or later.”
For Egypt to qualify for the knockout phase of the current edition in Ivory Coast, the “Pharaohs” will first have to beat Cape Verde, the winner of Group B, and this without Salah, who is hurt. The striker injured his hamstring during Egypt’s 2-2 draw against Ghana and is expected to be out for two matches.
“We are not very good at the moment, but we are a fantastic team, we have a great coach. So we have to stay focused, have a good vision and be positive. And I believe that with work everything will be possible “said Salah.
Egypt have won more African Cup titles than any other country, but Salah said the team was determined to extend their record to eight trophies.
“Everyone knows what it means for a player to win the African Cup. We are always proud to wear this jersey,” Salah said. “We were unlucky during the last edition, that of Gabon (in 2017) too, a little unlucky. The players are very motivated to win the tournament. We all want to win it.”
Egypt are not the only pre-tournament favorites struggling to reach the knockout stage. In Group B, Ghana need a victory against Mozambique to continue their hopes of qualifying. The top two from each group qualify for the round of 16, while the four best third-placed teams from each group also qualify.
Host country Ivory Coast and Nigeria have tough matches to play this Monday, against Equatorial Guinea and Guinea-Bissau, respectively, in Group A. Cameroon, Algeria and Tunisia are among potential candidates for the title who encounter difficulties.
“It’s really complicated,” said Salah, who noted that improving standards made matches more unpredictable. “African football is improving a lot. We saw it during the World Cup, Morocco went very far and all of Africa was behind them. So I think African football is improving considerably.”