Mohamed Salah, captain of the Egyptian national team, refused to consider his country a favorite to win the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, pointing out that the levels of competition in the tournament are extremely close, which made the task much more difficult against Benin in the round of 16.
Egypt needed extra time to defeat Benin 3-1 and reach the quarterfinals, where they will face the winner of the Ivory Coast vs. Burkina Faso match.
Speaking after the victory over Benin, in which he scored a last-minute goal, Salah said, “We were slightly better than them physically, and that gave us the advantage, but honestly, there are no easy matches in Africa.”
He added, “The levels are close, and I told the players that no team loses by four or five goals. They are a good team with a good coach and organization, and I’m happy we managed to beat them.”
He continued, “I don’t think we are favorites to win the title. We have young players, and most of our players play in Egypt.” He added, “We’re just fighting for our country, and we’ll see how far we can go. Everyone is giving their best, as you saw today, but that’s all I can say.”
It’s worth noting that this is Mohamed Salah’s fifth appearance in the Africa Cup of Nations, where he has scored 10 goals. However, he has never won the title, with his best results being runner-up finishes in 2017 and 2022.
