SOCCER: South Africa do not fear Salah or Marmoush, coach Broos says

Coach Hugo Broos said South Africa are not intimidated by Egypt’s star-studded Premier League attack, including Mohamed Salah and Omar Marmoush, ahead of their Group B showdown at the Africa Cup of Nations on Friday.

Manchester City forward Marmoush scored the equalizer against Zimbabwe before a late goal from Liverpool’s Salah sealed a 2-1 victory for Egypt in their tournament opener in Morocco on Monday.

South Africa, meanwhile, opened their Group B campaign with a 2-1 win over Angola, highlighted by a long-range strike from Lyle Foster.

The Belgian coach said his side will not adopt a special strategy to contain Salah or Marmoush, stressing that the focus remains on team performance rather than individual threats.

“We are focused on no one. The most important thing is the team,” Broos told a press conference on Thursday. Broos previously led Cameroon to the 2017 AFCON title, defeating Egypt in the final.

“We all know how good Salah is, we all know how good Marmoush is, and we all know how good Trezeguet and the other players are. They are a very good team. Why should we focus on one player? We have to be prepared to beat the team,” he added.

The last AFCON meeting between the two sides ended in South Africa’s favor, when they defeated hosts Egypt 1-0 in the Round of 16 of the 2019 tournament.

“We have to put Egypt in difficult situations, and you can only do that by using your quality and the players you normally rely on,” Broos said.

-Reporting by Mohamed Yossry and Ahmad El Ghannam; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne/Reuters