By Moses Okorie
Mohamed Salah’s penalty was enough to give the Pharaohs of Egypt their needed victory against the Bafana Bafana of South Africa in Group B second encounter in the ongoing African Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2025 holding in Morocco.
Egypt became the first side to qualify for the knockout stages after beating South Africa in a controversial heavyweight Group B showdown. Both sides started their AFCON campaigns with 2-1 victories as but only one 100 percent winning record remains thanks to Mohamed Salah’s penalty.
Despite playing the entire second half with ten men, the Liverpool star’s second goal of the tournament was enough for the seven-time AFCON winners to make it two wins from two in Morocco and progress to the round of 16 with a game to spare. Furthermore, as group winners, the Pharaohs will face one of the best third-placed teams from Group A, C or D.
Bafana Bafana, who were denied what looked to be stonewall penalty in second half stoppage time, can still qualify for the knockout phase when they face Zimbabwe in their final group game next week and now must regroup after seeing their long unbeaten run come to an end. Follow Egypt vs South Africa back below with Standard Sport’s dedicated match blog!