Salah scored the winner from the penalty spot in the first half of Egypt's 1-0 victory after receiving a blow to the face in the South African box, but was then largely kept quiet by a combination of his side's defensive game plan after they went down to 10 men, and excellent defending from Bafana Bafana’s Mbekezeli Mbokazi.
“I’m very happy with the result, for sure,” Salah said. “It was a tough game; they dominated most of the time. It’s a team that can keep the ball for a long time, so I think we had a good game plan and it worked.
“We walked away with the three points; that’s the most important thing. The atmosphere was incredible. It was a difficult game, the crowd was big in the stadium, and that helped us a lot.
“Hopefully, we can carry on like this,” he added.
Egypt have qualified for the Round of 16 as Group B winners despite still having a fixture to play against Angola on Monday.
They will then take on one of the best third-placed teams from Groups A, C or D in the next phase.
“Since the draw was held in Morocco in January 2025, we knew the game against South Africa would be difficult, as they have many talented players,” Egypt coach Hossam Hassan said.
“We played the game against Zimbabwe (a 2-1 win) like a final, managing a comeback and a victory. We played a full half against South Africa with only 10 players and still secured the win.
“I thank all the players for executing our tactics well and closing down South Africa’s players effectively. I am happy that we don’t rely on a static tactic; we adapt our approach for every game.”
Egypt are record seven-time winners of the Africa Cup of Nations but have not lifted the trophy since 2010.
