Salah scores Egypt's late winner to beat Zimbabwe 2-1 in Africa Cup

RABAT, Morocco (AP) — Mohamed Salah got Egypt off to a winning start in the Africa Cup of Nations by scoring late for 2-1 against Zimbabwe on Monday.

Salah captained the team in his first start for nearly a month and fired inside the bottom corner in stoppage time to spare Egypt embarrassment against a team ranked 129th in the world.

Egypt, the record seven-time champion, was thwarted for long periods in the coastal city of Agadir by Zimbabwe’s stubborn defending and an outstanding performance from goalkeeper Washington Arubi.

“We wasted several scoring chances and we didn't have luck on our side,” Egypt coach Hossam Hassan said. “That's football. We were the better team throughout the match. Opening games are always difficult.”

Prince Dube stunned the favorites in the 20th minute when he took Emmanuel Jalai’s cross with his first touch and spun around a defender to flick it past Egypt ’keeper Mohamed El-Shenawy with his next.

Salah tried riling his teammates. They kept missing chances. Hassan hooked Emam Ashour in the 33rd, leaving the midfielder in tears on the bench.

Arubi tipped over a fierce strike from Marmoush, Trézéguet dived in an attempt to win a penalty and was booked, then Salah, Marmoush, and Mostafa Mohamed – who had gone on for the ineffective Ashour – all had efforts blocked before the break.

The game resumed in the same manner after until Marmoush finally found a way to score from a difficult angle in the 64th.

Salah’s winner gave the Pharaohs three points in Group B. The Liverpool star has never won Africa’s premier competition. This is his fifth edition.

Lyle Foster earned South Africa a hard-fought 2-1 over Angola in the other group game.

The Bafana Bafana ended a six-game winless streak against Angola, which had won three and drawn three of their meetings since a World Cup qualifier in November 2015.

South Africa’s Oswin Appollis opened the scoring in Marrakech with a low strike inside the left post in the 21st minute, but midfielder Show equalized some minutes later when he deflected Fredy’s free kick from the wing inside the near post.

Tempers frayed after a foul by South Africa’s Aubrey Modiba before the break.

Tshepang Moremi thought he scored a brilliant goal after it. The goal was ruled out for offside after a VAR review, and Mbekezeli Mbokazi struck the crossbar with a fierce strike as South Africa kept pushing.

Angola coach Patrice Beaumelle refreshed his attacking lineup by sending on Mabululu and Milson in the 76th but it was Foster who scored at the other end when he curled the ball beyond Hugo Marques’ outstretched arm in the 79th.

Patson Daka scored in stoppage time for 2012 champion Zambia to grab a 1-1 draw against Mali in the early game in Casablanca.

Mali dominated and missed a penalty before the break when Willard Mwanza saved El Bilal Touré’s effort – the second saved penalty in as many games at the tournament.

Lassine Sinayoko finally broke the deadlock around the hour mark, but Daka had the final say with a header to earn Zambia a point in Group A.

Host nation Morocco leads the group with three after opening with a 2-0 win over Comoros on Sunday.

AP at the Africa Cup: https://apnews.com/hub/africa-cup-of-nations

Zimbabwe's Prince Dube scores during the Africa Cup of Nations group B soccer match between Egypt and Zimbabwe in Agadir, Morocco, Monday, Dec. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)

Egypt's Omar Marmoush celebrates after scoring during the Africa Cup of Nations group B soccer match between Egypt and Zimbabwe in Agadir, Morocco, Monday, Dec. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)

Egypt's Mohamed Salah celebrates after scoring during the Africa Cup of Nations group B soccer match between Egypt and Zimbabwe in Agadir, Morocco, Monday, Dec. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)

Egypt's Mohamed Salah scores during the Africa Cup of Nations group B soccer match between Egypt and Zimbabwe in Agadir, Morocco, Monday, Dec. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)

South Africa's Lyle Foster celebrates after scoring a goal during the Africa Cup of Nations group B soccer match between Angola and South Africa in Marrakech, Morocco, Monday, Dec. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)

South Africa's Lyle Foster celebrates after scoring a goal during the Africa Cup of Nations group B soccer match between Angola and South Africa in Marrakech, Morocco, Monday, Dec. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)

South Africa national team pose for a group photo during the Africa Cup of Nations group B soccer match between Angola and South Africa in Marrakech, Morocco, Monday, Dec. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)

Angola's Show Cafumana celebrates after scoring a goal during the Africa Cup of Nations group B soccer match between Angola and South Africa in Marrakech, Morocco, Monday, Dec. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)

South Africa's Khuliso Mudau heads the ball during the Africa Cup of Nations group B soccer match between Angola and South Africa in Marrakech, Morocco, Monday, Dec. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)

South Africa's Oswin Appollis, left, celebrates after scoring a goal during the Africa Cup of Nations group B soccer match between Angola and South Africa in Marrakech, Morocco, Monday, Dec. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)

Angola's Zito Luvumbo, left, is challenged by South Africa's Aubrey Modiba during the Africa Cup of Nations group B soccer match between Angola and South Africa in Marrakech, Morocco, Monday, Dec. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The state of Missouri is losing its third NFL franchise and the second in the past decade, and the decision by the Chiefs on Monday to depart their longtime home at Arrowhead Stadium for a new domed facility in Kansas may hurt the most.

The Chiefs announced their intention to move after Kansas lawmakers approved a bond package earlier in the day to help pay for the new facility. It will be built near Kansas Speedway and a retail district known as The Legends in Kansas City, Kansas — only about 30 miles from Arrowhead Stadium, but a distance that has perhaps never felt so far.

“Years ago as a kid, my family was homeless for a while and we lived in a motel not too far from the stadium," said Quinton Lucas, the mayor of Kansas City, Missouri, shortly after the team’s announcement. "I knew we struggled, but I believed nothing was cooler than living within a stones' throw of what I thought then and today is the greatest stadium in football.

“Like a lot of parents in Chiefs Kingdom, my single mother scraped some money together to get me to Arrowhead for my first game — 300-level upper deck for a 30-7 preseason loss to the Buffalo Bills in 1993. I’ve been hooked ever since.”

Missouri lawmakers had been desperately trying to keep the Chiefs with their own funding package. They held a special legislative session in June backed by Gov. Mike Kehoe that authorized bonds covering up to 50% of the cost of new or renovated stadiums, plus up to $50 million of tax credits for each stadium and unspecified aid from local governments.

Lucas also had been working with local lawmakers in recent days on a counterproposal to keep the Chiefs in Missouri.

“We understand our very fair but very responsible financial offer of taxpayer support was surpassed by an even more robust public financing package in Kansas,” he said. “The Chiefs have a business to run and today made a business decision. We wish them well.”

The previous two NFL teams to leave Missouri were in St. Louis. The Cardinals, who came from Chicago in 1960, left for the Phoenix area in 1988 and now play in a state-of-the-art stadium in Glendale, Arizona. The Rams arrived from Anaheim, California, in 1995, then headed to Los Angeles in part because of their inability to secure funding to replace The Dome at America's Center.

The Rams recently built SoFi Stadium in the suburb of Inglewood, California, at a cost of more than $5 billion.

Other professional sports franchises to jilt Missouri include the Athletics of Major League Baseball, who left Kansas City for Oakland, California, following the 1967 season; the Kings of the National Basketball Association, who moved to Sacramento, California, in 1985; and the Kansas City Scouts of the National Hockey League, who eventually became the Colorado Rockies.

Sporting Kansas City, a club in Major League Soccer, once called Arrowhead Stadium home. It now plays its games on the Kansas side of the state line at Children's Mercy Park, close to where the Chiefs are expected to build their new stadium.

“I feel like Kansas won the Super Bowl,” said Ty Masterson, the president of the Kansas Senate.

The Chiefs and Kansas City Royals have played for more than five decades at the Truman Sports Complex, where Arrowhead and Kauffman stadiums sit a couple hundred yards apart. Both are revered, the NFL stadium for its tailgating experience and loud home-field advantage, and the Major League Baseball stadium for its picturesque backdrop of glittering outfield fountains.

Both teams have had plenty of recent success there, too.

The Chiefs, who at 6-9 have been eliminated from playoff contention this season, had appeared in the past three Super Bowls and the previous seven conference title games. They have some of the biggest stars in the game, including quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who has led the Chiefs to three Super Bowl titles in five trips to the big game.

The Royals, who won their second World Series in 2015, returned to the playoffs following the 2024 season. They are led by Bobby Witt Jr., one of the bright young stars of the game, and are coming off a second consecutive winning season.

One of the prevailing questions now is whether the Royals will follow the Chiefs across the Kansas-Missouri line.

The Royals insist they will not play at Kauffman Stadium beyond the 2031 season, and their preference has been to build a new downtown ballpark. But a sales tax extension that would have paid for an $800 million renovation of Arrowhead Stadium and a new home for the Royals was soundly defeated last year by voters in Jackson County, Missouri, leaving both to look elsewhere.

Through an affiliate, the Royals have purchased the mortgage for a tract of land in the Kansas City suburb of Overland Park, Kansas.

The announcement of the Chiefs' moving to Kansas generated widespread reaction among fans. Some were concerned about the price of tickets in a new facility, others about traffic flow and construction, and still others about the legacy of Arrowhead Stadium.

“I don’t think it is the greatest idea,” said Dustin Allen, who lives in Blue Springs, Missouri, and was visiting Union Station in downtown Kansas City, Missouri, on Monday. “I think that where they have it is a very nice spot. I will say that the traffic over there is always fun. I think it’s nice to have them downtown in some way, shape or form.”

Mike Robinson, a season ticket-holder from Kansas City, Kansas, was visiting a science museum inside the train station with his son.

“I’m pretty sure prices will go up,” he said. “That’s what I’m concerned about. A brand new stadium. Season ticket holders may not be able to keep up with their tickets with the rising prices.”

Analaysia Miller, a Chiefs fan from Kansas City, Kansas, didn’t have a strong opinion about the move since the team isn't leaving entirely. The new stadium will be about 35 miles (56 kilometers) west of the old one.

“It is just whatever they want to do,” she said as she visited Union Station with her three children. “As long as they are still in our city, representing for our city. That’s all that matters to me.”

Associated Press writers John Hanna, David Lieb and Heather Hollingsworth contributed.

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

Kansas Senate President Ty Masterson, R-Andover, confers with members of the Legislature's staff before a meeting of legislative leaders to review a proposal for issuing bonds to help the Kansas City Chiefs build a new stadium on the Kansas side of the Kansas City metropolitan area, Monday, Dec. 22, 2025, at the Statehouse in Topeka, Kan. (AP Photo/John Hanna)

Kansas City Chiefs Chairman and CEO Clark Hunt watches the start of a meeting of legislative leaders who had the power to decide whether the state issues bonds to help the Chiefs finance a new stadium on the Kansas side of the Kansas City metropolitan area, Monday, Dec. 22, 2025, at the Statehouse in Topeka, Kan. (AP Photo/John Hanna)