Mohamed Salah’s calm penalty proved decisive as Egypt edged past South Africa to secure qualification for the knockout stage of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations with a match to spare. The seven-time champions played the entire second half with 10 men but showed resilience and experience to protect their narrow lead.
Salah’s penalty seals Egypt’s knockout place at AFCON 2025
Egypt took the lead just before half-time when Salah converted a spot kick awarded after a VAR review. However, celebrations were quickly tempered as right-back Mohamed Hany was sent off in stoppage time following a second yellow card, leaving the Pharaohs under pressure for the remainder of the contest.
Despite South Africa pushing numbers forward after the break, Egypt remained dangerous on the counter while relying heavily on goalkeeper Mohamed El Shenawy, who produced several crucial saves to keep his side in front of Salah.
“𝑾𝒆 𝒌𝒏𝒆𝒘 𝒊𝒕 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒃𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒇𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒖𝒍𝒕 𝒂𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒅, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒅 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒊𝒑𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒆,” 𝒂𝒏 𝑬𝒈𝒚𝒑𝒕 𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒎 𝒔𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒄𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅 𝒂𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒄𝒉.
VAR drama and late pressure from South Africa
South Africa made attacking changes in the second half but struggled to break down Egypt’s compact defence. El Shenawy denied Aubrey Modiba from close range and comfortably dealt with late efforts as the Bafana Bafana grew increasingly frustrated.
There was more VAR controversy late on when South Africa appealed for a handball penalty deep into stoppage time. The referee reviewed the incident on the pitchside monitor but ruled the Egyptian defender’s arm position was natural, allowing play to continue.
“𝑾𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒇𝒆𝒍𝒕 𝒅𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒅𝒊𝒅𝒏’𝒕 𝒈𝒐 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒘𝒂𝒚, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕’𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒐𝒕𝒃𝒂𝒍𝒍,” 𝑺𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒉 𝑨𝒇𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒂 𝒄𝒐𝒂𝒄𝒉 𝑯𝒖𝒈𝒐 𝑩𝒓𝒐𝒐𝒔 𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒍𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒆𝒅.
Earlier results ensured Egypt’s place in the last 16, while South Africa remains in control of their own destiny heading into the final round of group matches. Egypt now faces Angola, while South Africa takes on Zimbabwe as Group B reaches its conclusion.
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