Salah: Egypt must play without regrets in AFCON title bid

Mohamed Salah is aiming to have no regrets as he aims to drive Egypt towards Africa Cup of Nations glory.

Salah scored the decisive goal as Egypt beat AFCON holders Ivory Coast 3-2 on Saturday.

Omar Marmoush and Rami Rabia put Egypt in control before Ahmed Abou El Fotouh's own goal dragged Ivory Coast back into the contest before half-time.

However, Salah, who had already provided an assist, struck in the 52nd minute to restore Egypt's two-goal cushion, before Guela Doue set up a grandstand finish.

Seven-time AFCON champions Egypt will take on Senegal in a mouthwatering semi-final on Wednesday, as the Pharaohs aim to win the tournament for the first time since 2010.

"I am very happy and proud to play with these guys," said Salah.

"We always want to bring joy to the Egyptian fans, and we believe we can win every match with this mindset.

"It was a difficult match. The Ivorians won the AFCON last time at home. They played like champions today as well. But we gave everything, and I’m happy we managed to qualify.

"I always give my all for my team. I try to bring my experience to help us achieve great things. I always tell my team-mates to give everything as soon as they step on the pitch. It’s very important to do that so we have no regrets."

Ivory Coast coach Emerse Fae, meanwhile, was left to lament lapses in concentration from his team, and his focus is now on preparing for this year's World Cup.

He said: "We are frustrated by tonight’s result. We had prepared our players to face this Egyptian team, but we made far too many mistakes at key moments in the match to hope to eliminate them.

"What hurts most tonight are those mistakes. It took us some time to get into the match. I regret conceding the first goal so early, as well as the second.

"We reacted well by coming back to 2-1 before half-time. But the third goal put us in trouble. It’s hard to explain these lapses in concentration. We will continue to work to prepare for the World Cup."

In facing Senegal, Salah will go up against his former Liverpool club-mate Sadio Mane.

Salah (16) and Mane (19) are the players with the most AFCON goal involvements across the past decade.