Liverpool talisman Mohamed Salah was kept quiet as Egypt picked up a narrow 1-0 win over Zimbabwe in their Africa Cup of Nations opener and former Chelsea ace Samuel Eto’o has given his opinion on how the host nation fared, as quoted by KingFut.
Pharaohs midfielder Trezeguet scored late in the first half, arguably the only truly clinical move of the entire game, as the hosts were dominant in the first period, but the second half saw the Southern African nation weigh in with some opportunities as Egypt appeared to run out of energy and ideas.
Cameroon legend Eto’o, a two-time winner of the Africa Cup of Nations as well as an Olympic gold medalist, said that Egypt need to improve, especially in the front line, in order to stand a better chance of adding to their tally of seven wins in the illustrious tournament.
“If Egypt keep performing this way they will suffer in the upcoming games,” Eto’o told the Times Sports TV channel, as quoted by KingFut.
“The Egyptian national team suffered especially in attack, as Salah was always far from the strikers and that’s why he wasn’t very present during the game.
“Everyone was passing the ball to Salah, the team has to start playing as a unit which wasn’t the case.
Marwan Mohsen also failed to perform very well because no-one passed him the ball and that’s why he was struggling during the game.”
As well as being an icon for Cameroon, Eto’o has enjoyed a fruitful career at club level too, winning numerous trophies with Barcelona, Inter Milan and Mallorca, plus multiple individual accolades.
Salah, meanwhile, is hoping to lead the Pharaohs to Africa Cup of Nations glory just weeks after helping Liverpool to a sixth European Cup, the Anfield giants beating Premier League rivals Tottenham Hotspur in the final.
