Mohamed Salah scored a 97th-minute penalty to save Egypt's blushes as they rescued a 2-2 draw against Mozambique and denied their opponents a first African Cup of Nations victory in a Group B clash at the Felix Houphouet Stadium Boigny on Sunday.
Salah's penalty hit the post after Mozambique defender Domingos Macandza was fouled in the area. The penalty was awarded after a video assistant referee check.
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Egypt got off to a good start in Abidjan thanks to a two-minute goal from Mostafa Mohamed, but Mozambique made them pay for the missed opportunities by scoring twice in three minutes of the second half through Witi and substitute Clesio Bauque.
But they were denied a first Nations Cup victory in their 13th match as Salah held his nerve.
“It's heartbreaking not to win like this, but it will only make us stronger. We don't think small, we think big,” said Mozambique midfielder Guima.
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Egypt now awaits a second group match against Ghana on Thursday, while Mozambique will face Cape Verde on Friday.
There will be a huge sigh of relief in the Pharaohs camp after a match they largely dominated, but which allowed Mozambique to get back into contention in the second half.
Egypt took the lead when Salah made an unusually poor attempt at goal, but when the ball fell to Mostafa Mohamed, he fired into the bottom corner of the net from 15 yards.
Egypt continued to press for a second and Trézéguet's low shot from 18 yards hit the outside of the post, but Mozambique were almost level when Pharoahs defender Mohamed Hamdi botched a clearance that went into his own goal and goalkeeper Mohamed El Shennawy made a brilliant diving save.
Mozambique found the equalizer in the 55th minute, when Witi rose unmarked from a Macandza cross and guided a powerful header past El Shennawy.
They then turned the game around with a second three minutes later when they separated Egypt in the middle.
Guima fed a furious Clésio and the midfielder evaded a wild tackle from Ahmed Hegazi for a clear run towards goal and provided a composed finish.
Egypt came close to an equalizer when Hamdi Fathi's clever shot hit the post and went wide, before winning the penalty that prevented Mozambique from suffering one of the biggest upsets in Nations Cup history.
