Mohamed Salah scored from a penalty kick deep into injury time on Sunday to send Egypt to the World Cup and end a near 30-year wait for Africa's most successful team.
Salah scored both Egypt's goals in a 2-1 home win over Republic of Congo in the penultimate round of qualifiers in Africa.
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Mohamed Salah scored from a penalty kick deep into injury time on Sunday to send Egypt to the World Cup and end a near 30-year wait for Africa's most successful team.
It unleashed joy across a soccer-mad country of nearly 100 million people used to bitter disappointment when trying to qualify for the world's top soccer tournament.
Salah thought he had won it for Egypt with his first goal in the 63rd minute. But Egypt was stunned by a ferocious volley by Republic of Congo substitute Arnold Bouka Moutou to level the scores in the 86th.
That turmoil affected the soccer team, too, with the record seven-time African champion failing to qualify for three straight African Cups from 2012-2015 before making a return this year. Argentine coach Hector Cuper led Egypt to the African Cup final in February on that return, eventually losing to Cameroon.
The World Cup qualification was Cuper's greatest achievement, though. Egypt, an African giant and founding member of the Confederation of African Football, has only played at two World Cups before — in 1934 and 1990.
Egypt will now finish top of Group E, making sure of its place at the World Cup with a game to spare against Ghana next month.
Egypt qualified for the World Cup for the first time since 1990 and Salah's powerful left-footed penalty in the fourth minute of injury time dramatically delivered the win it needed to make sure of its place.
Egyptian fans celebrate after defeating Congo during the 2018 World Cup group E qualifying soccer match at the Borg El Arab Stadium in Alexandria, Egypt, Sunday, Oct. 8, 2017. Egypt won 2-1. (AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty)
It unleashed joy across a soccer-mad country of nearly 100 million people used to bitter disappointment when trying to qualify for the world's top soccer tournament.
The win sent hundreds of thousands of fans across Egypt celebrating, honking car horns and waving the country's red, white and black flags. In Cairo, an army helicopter dropped hundreds of Egyptian flags on thousands of fans gathered at the city's iconic Tahrir square.
Egypt was the second African country to qualify for the 2018 World Cup in Russia after Nigeria clinched its place on Saturday. The other three African qualifiers will be decided in the final qualifying games next month.
Egypt's Mohamed Salah celebrates defeating Congo during the 2018 World Cup group E qualifying soccer match at the Borg El Arab Stadium in Alexandria, Egypt, Sunday, Oct. 8, 2017. Egypt won 2-1. (AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty)
Salah thought he had won it for Egypt with his first goal in the 63rd minute. But Egypt was stunned by a ferocious volley by Republic of Congo substitute Arnold Bouka Moutou to level the scores in the 86th.
Egypt substitute Mahmoud Hassan was brought down in the box two minutes into injury time and Salah, Egypt's star player, clinched victory from the spot.
The game was held in front of a capacity crowd of 30,000 at a military stadium in the Mediterranean port city of Alexandria, a reminder of the political turmoil Egypt has endured over the last six years.
Egypt's Mohamed Salah celebrates after defeating Congo during the 2018 World Cup group E qualifying soccer match at the Borg El Arab Stadium in Alexandria, Egypt, Sunday, Oct. 8, 2017. Egypt won 2-1. (AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty)
That turmoil affected the soccer team, too, with the record seven-time African champion failing to qualify for three straight African Cups from 2012-2015 before making a return this year. Argentine coach Hector Cuper led Egypt to the African Cup final in February on that return, eventually losing to Cameroon.
Egypt's goalkeeper Essam El Hadary celebrates after defeating Congo in the 2018 World Cup group E qualifying soccer match at the Borg El Arab Stadium in Alexandria, Egypt, Sunday, Oct. 8, 2017. Egypt won 2-1. (AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty)
The World Cup qualification was Cuper's greatest achievement, though. Egypt, an African giant and founding member of the Confederation of African Football, has only played at two World Cups before — in 1934 and 1990.
Egyptian fans celebrate after beating Congo during the 2018 World Cup group E qualifying soccer match at the Borg El Arab Stadium in Alexandria, Egypt, Sunday, Oct. 8, 2017. Egypt won 2-1. (AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty)
Egypt will now finish top of Group E, making sure of its place at the World Cup with a game to spare against Ghana next month.
Egypt's Mohamed Salah, center, celebrates with his teammates after defeating Congo during the 2018 World Cup group E qualifying soccer match between Egypt and Congo at the Borg El Arab Stadium in Alexandria, Egypt, Sunday, Oct. 8, 2017. Egypt won 2-1. (AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty)
LIMA, Peru (AP) — Peruvian President Dina Boluarte was interrogated by prosecutors for five hours Friday as authorities investigate whether she illegally received hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash, luxury watches and jewelry.
Prosecutors have been investigating the highly unpopular leader on charges of illicit enrichment and failure to declare assets. After she gave testimony, Boluarte rolled out of the offices in a car with tinted windows, surrounded by police and security detail.
In a televised speech following the meeting, Boluarte responded to the allegations saying “everything they've said is false.” She flaunted one of her Rolex watches and a number of other golden bracelets and necklaces that spurred on the controversy, holding them up for the cameras and railing against critics.
“With respect to the watches, I should recognize that it was a mistake to have accepted (them) on loan,” she said. "As these watches are not my property, I was not obliged to declare them.”
While she said some of the jewelry was hers, she said she received the watches as a loan from Wilfredo Oscorima, the governor of the southern rural region of Ayacucho.
Boluarte's statements Friday appear to directly contradict previous comments she made saying the Rolex watches were “fruit of my labor,” working since she was 18.
The unfolding scandal is the latest turmoil that has wracked Peru’s political system in recent years.
The probe began in mid-March after the digital news program La Encerrona spotlighted Boluarte wearing a Rolex watch worth up to $14,000 in Peru. Other TV shows later reported that the leader was seen wearing at least two other Rolexes as well as a gold and diamond Cartier bracelet estimated to cost more than $54,000.
The controversy was quickly dubbed “Rolexgate” on social media.
Peruvian law requires officials to declare jewelry whose price exceeds $2,791, and it’s still not clear where the watches and hundreds of thousands of dollars in bank transfers came from.
The controversy will only add headwinds for Boluarte, who is unpopular with 86% of Peruvians, according to a March survey by the Institute of Peruvian Studies.
“She has no good governance, she’s rejected by the majority, her problems with the people are very serious,” said Alonso Cárdenas, political science professor at Peru’s Antonio Ruiz de Montoya University.
Earlier on Friday, scuffles broke out as opposing protesters gathered near the building, waiting for Boluarte to leave.
While a number of protestors came to defend the president carrying a sign reading “Dina resist,” others blocks away from the presidential palace railed against the embattled leader, carrying brooms and shouting “get them all out!” They were blocked by riot police, who drove them away with tear gas.
Last week, armed police officers broke down the front door of Boluarte’s house with a battering ram and entered the property to search for the watches. They did not find them, and moved on to the presidential palace, where they also weren't located.
Top prosecutor Juan Villena had said his office was expanding the scope of the investigation, given that investigators believe Boluarte has even more undeclared assets than they originally suspected.
The office estimated that her jewelry, including the Cartier bracelet and watches, may be worth as much as $500,000, and said she received more than $400,000 in “deposits of unknown origin” into her bank account.
Boluarte, a 61-year-old lawyer, was a modest district official before entering then-President Pedro Castillo’s government as vice president and social inclusion minister with a total monthly salary of $8,136 in July 2021. She became president in December 2022 — after Parliament dismissed Castillo — with a salary of $4,200 per month. Shortly after, she began wearing the watches in public.
The Andean nation is no stranger to political tumult. Peru has had six presidents in six years, following waves of political controversies. That doesn't mean Boluarte is soon to be ejected from the presidency. Analysts told The Associated Press she is unlikely to face any real consequences – at least in the short term. Sitting presidents in Peru can’t be charged with crimes while in office, and Congress will be reluctant to move forward with impeachment proceedings.
Boluarte's alliance with a coalition of congressional leaders means she will likely stay in office until 2026, said Will Freeman, a fellow of Latin American studies for the Council of Foreign Relations. Freeman says Boluarte is a “puppet” who has enabled the lawmakers to pass reforms that are slowly “dismantling democracy” so that they can stay in power.
Peru’s Congress on Thursday shot down two requests by a number of lawmakers to remove Boluarte from office. Boluarte called the motions “absurd” on Friday and thanked the congress for shooting them down.
Janetsky contributed to this report from Mexico City.
Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america
Peru's President Dina Boluarte holds up her hand to show the ring and bracelet she is wearing, during a press conference at Government Palace, in Lima, Peru, Friday, April 5, 2024. Authorities are investigating on whether she illegally received hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash, luxury watches and jewelry. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia)
Peru's President Dina Boluarte waves as she arrives to attend a press conference at Government Palace in Lima, Peru, Friday, April 5, 2024. Authorities are investigating on whether she illegally received hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash, luxury watches and jewelry. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia)
Peru's President Dina Boluarte points to the earrings she is wearing, during a press conference at Government Palace, in Lima, Peru, Friday, April 5, 2024. Authorities are investigating on whether she illegally received hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash, luxury watches and jewelry. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia)
Peru's President Dina Boluarte shows her necklace, accompanied by her lawyers Mateo Castaneda, left, and Eduardo Barriga, during a press conference at Government Palace in Lima, Peru, Friday, April 5, 2024. Authorities are investigating on whether she illegally received hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash, luxury watches and jewelry. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia)
Peru's President Dina Boluarte shows her jewelry during a press conference at Government Palace in Lima, Peru, Friday, April 5, 2024. Authorities are investigating on whether she illegally received hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash, luxury watches and jewelry. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia)
FILE - Peru's President Dina Boluarte talks to the press at the end of the Amazon Summit in Belem, Brazil, Aug. 8, 2023. Boluarte testified to prosecutors behind closed doors Friday, April 5, 2024, as authorities investigate whether she illegally received hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash, luxury watches and jewelry. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres, File)
Pedestrians walk past the public prosecutor's office where Peruvian President Dina Boluarte arrived to testify, in Lima, Peru, Friday, April 5, 2024. Authorities are investigating on whether she illegally received hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash, luxury watches and jewelry. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia)
Police stand guard in the perimeters of the public prosecutor's office where Peruvian President Dina Boluarte arrived to testify, in Lima, Peru, Friday, April 5, 2024. Authorities are investigating on whether she illegally received hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash, luxury watches and jewelry. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia)
People run for cover as police launch tear gas to disperse demonstrators trying to reach Government Palace to demand the resignation of President Dina Boluarte, in Lima, Peru, Friday, April 5, 2024. Boluarte testified to prosecutors behind closed doors Friday as authorities investigate whether she illegally received hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash, luxury watches and jewelry. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia)
People run for cover as police launch tear gas to disperse demonstrators trying to reach Government Palace to demand the resignation of President Dina Boluarte, in Lima, Peru, Friday, April 5, 2024. Boluarte testified to prosecutors behind closed doors Friday as authorities investigate whether she illegally received hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash, luxury watches and jewelry. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia)
People run for cover as police launch tear gas to disperse demonstrators trying to reach Government Palace to demand the resignation of President Dina Boluarte, in Lima, Peru, Friday, April 5, 2024. Boluarte testified to prosecutors behind closed doors Friday as authorities investigate whether she illegally received hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash, luxury watches and jewelry. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia)
Police and prosecutors stand outside President Dina Boluarte's house during a raid aimed at seizing luxury watches as part of a preliminary investigation into alleged illicit enrichment in Lima, Peru, Saturday, March 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia)
