Salah praises ‘perfect win’ as Egypt advances to AFCON semi-finals

Mohamed Salah, the Egyptian forward, hailed his team's performance as a 'perfect win' following their victory over defending champions Ivory Coast on Saturday, as they secured a place in the semi-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations.

Egypt ended Ivory Coast's reign with a narrow 3-2 victory, thanks to Salah's third goal for Hossam Hassan's squad. The Liverpool star also set a new record by scoring against 11 different national teams in the AFCON.

Egypt will face Senegal on Wednesday in Tangier for a place in the AFCON final.

Salah emphasised that, despite their recent triumph, the team remains fully committed and determined as they continue competing for their country.

"It was a perfect win, but as I said before, we are fighting for our country," Salah told CAF's media channel.

"Hopefully we go through the next game as well, it's against a tough opponent, but we will give our best. We are fighting so hard, you can see the players, nobody is holding anything... We are just carrying on," he added.

With 11 goals apiece, Salah has now tied his coach Hassan’s AFCON record and needs just one more goal to join Hassan El-Shazly as Egypt’s all-time top scorer in the competition.

Salah also pointed out that, although most of the national team players compete domestically, they are giving their all for their country and hope to overcome a strong Senegal side.

"Most of our national team players play in the domestic league, it's not to belittle them, but we are trying our best because we love our country," Salah said.

"The game (against Senegal) will be difficult, they have a squad that plays at a high level in Europe, but I hope we can achieve victory."