Egypt’s coach, Rui Vitoria, is now focused on his next game against Ghana, hoping to make up for the mistakes he made in the first match, having survived Mozambique’s heroic comeback on a late penalty kick by Mo Salah.
Mostafa Mohamed gave Egypt the lead after just two minutes in Abidjan, but Mozambique punished them for missed opportunities as Witi and substitute Clesio Bauque scored twice in the second half.
However, they were denied their first Cup of Nations victory as Salah maintained composure to save Egypt with a penalty kick in the 97th minute, salvaging a 2-2 draw against Mozambique.
“Mozambique has a solid team; I said it before meeting them, and that’s what happened during the game,” Coach Vitotia said. “They gave us a lot of tactical problems with this low pack. This team has excellent elements in midfield. They found gaps in us, and they took advantage of them.
“It’s going to be a different story (against Ghana). We will have to reduce the spaces and be more concentrated because the slightest mistake is paid dearly against an experienced team like Ghana.”
One of many unexpected outcomes on Sunday saw the smallest of the 24 teams competing in the tournament, the Cape Verde Islands, defeat Ghana with a goal in stoppage time.
