Egypt manager, Hossam Hassan, acknowledged that his team made their victory over Zimbabwe harder than necessary, winning 2–1 thanks to a stoppage-time goal from Mohamed Salah, Afrosport reports.
Egypt dominated the match but struggled to finish, with forwards like Emam Ashour and Trezeguet failing to capitalize.
Hassan substituted Ashour in the 33rd minute to manage his fitness after a long absence.
“We wasted many chances and made it tougher than it should have been,” he said.
Despite the late win, which put Egypt joint top of Group B with South Africa, Hassan cautioned about the competitiveness of the tournament.
“There are no easy matches,” he stated, as Egypt aims for their eighth AFCON title, their first since 2010.
🎥 HIGHLIGHTS: 🇪🇬 2-1 🇿🇼
Egypt come back to win their first #TotalEnergiesAFCON2025 match against Zimbabwe. ⚽️⚽️ pic.twitter.com/YLGz4HDkew
— TotalEnergies AFCON 2025 (@CAF_Online) December 22, 2025
Their next match is against South Africa in Agadir on Friday.
