Mohamed Salah, Egypt’s star forward and resting captain, was severely missed as his team labored 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 goalkeeper 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.
Prolific Liverpool scorer Salah, the subject of a recent transfer bid by Saudi Arabian club Al Ittihad, is expected to join his Egyptian teammates for a September 12 friendly against Tunisia.
“I wanted to grant him (Salah) a well-deserved rest after he played seven consecutive matches in the past 23 days,” Egypt coach Rui Vitoria told an eve-of-match press conference.
“Mohamed will rejoin the squad after the Ethiopia match. We cannot afford to take any unnecessary risks with him.”
Only pride was at stake as Egypt, whose last Cup of Nations title came in 2010, had secured a place at the finals three months ago while Ethiopia were eliminated at the same time.
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 program 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.
