Soccer Analysts: Salah’s Importance to Egypt Transcends Scoring

Soccer experts considered Mohamed Salah to be important to Egypt apparently even without scoring as Africa Cup of Nations kicks off. In an analysis of yesterday's match between Egypt and Zimbabwe published on 'Thisisanfield.com', experts said that Mo's 62 touches of the ball over the 90 minutes were more comparable with his midfield team-mates than the other attackers, and without really working himself a completely clear goal scoring chance, he still had easily the most efforts on goal: seven shots in total, four on target. Nobody else on the pitch managed more than three shots, or two on goal.

The report referred to 'tactical times' tweet which read that Salah might not have been at his best against Zimbabwe, "but we don't judge a performance based on what a player is capable of. He was heavily involved in Egypt's attacking play, especially during the first half".

Late in the game, Salah’s biggest chance to score came with a right-footed shot saved at the near post. However, the 1-0 win was secured by Mahmoud Hassan, better known as Egypt’s Trezeguet, but Salah searched for a another goal for his nation on a number of occasions.

With the three points secured, Egypt prepares for second match on Saturday, keeping an eye on their other rivals, as Congo DR face Uganda today.