Mohamed Salah struck a stoppage-time winner as Egypt came from behind to avoid an early Africa Cup of Nations shock, defeating 'lowly' Zimbabwe 2-1 in their tournament opener in Agadir on Monday.
Omar Marmoush's excellent equaliser and Salah's 91st-minute strike ultimately secured all three points for the seven-time champions -- the most successful side in the competition's history -- after Prince Dube's first-half opener had hinted at an early tournament surprise for the team ranked 129th in the world.
Salah's tournament build-up had been dominated by talk of his future at Liverpool following the forward's incendiary mixed-zone comments about his treatment at the club following the 3-3 draw with Leeds United earlier this month.
However, despite a frustrating outing (Egypt had 35 shots at goal, only 11 on target), he proved match-winner here, meeting Mostafa Mohamed's headed knock-down, holding off Teenage Hadebe and firing home in the dying minutes of the contest to ensure Egypt begin their campaign with a win.
Despite Egypt bossing the match, they found themselves repeatedly stifled by Zimbabwe's rugged defending, with only Marmoush looking likely to break the deadlock after Dube's 20th-minute opener.
He eventually restored parity in the 64th minute with a powerful finish into the roof of Washington Arubi's net, with the Zimbabwe stopper having earlier pulled off a series of fine saves to keep him at bay, before Salah's late winner condemned the Warriors to defeat.
Egypt started strongly, with Salah looking lively on the right flank and creating a series of chances early on, only for the unconvincing Emam Ashour to see his close-range effort deflected wide inside the opening exchanges, while Trézéguet was picked out by Salah at the back post only to have his header pawed away by the impressive Arubi.
As the Pharaohs found their stride, so Zimbabwe's defensive intensity increased to match it, with the Warriors backline forced into desperate blocks to deny Salah inside seven minutes, and watching on relieved as both Trezeguet and Ashour missed further chances.
They still offered a threat on the counter, however, with the lively Jonah Fabisch failing to get his head on a dropping ball only for Dube to open the scoring three minutes later.
Breaking down the right, Emmanuel Jalai picked out Dube, largely unmarked in the box, and the Tanzania-based forward rolled past the advancing Hossam Abdelmaguid before firing beyond Mohamed El Shenawy.
Egypt sought an equaliser, but as Salah ran out of steam, and Ashour was hooked after again fluffing his lines, Marmoush began to grow in stature and exert greater influence over the contest.
Late in the first-half, he tested Arubi with an effort from range, with the Zim keeper touching over, and increasingly dropped deeper as he sought to open up opportunities for his fellow forwards.
Nonetheless, Egyptian frustration threatened to boil over, with Salah looking increasingly exasperated as Marmoush scooped an effort harmlessly over from the edge of the box, getting his ranges all wrong, while Trezeguet was booked for a feeble dive after Godknows Murwira cleared the ball under pressure.
In the 54th minute, Marmoush darted through on goal and forced a fine save from Arubi, and minutes later had a shot charged down as he appeared to take on a personal mission to single-handedly forge open this stubborn Zimbabwe backline.
He had already had six attempts on goal before netting the equaliser, being picked out by Mohamed Hamdy down Egypt's left before cutting towards goal, snaking along the byline, and rifling emphatically above Arubi and into the roof of the Warriors goal.
The Pharaohs ought to have taken the lead after 72 minutes when substitute Mostafa Mohamed, unmarked at the back post, sent a header over, while Salah lofted an effort high over the Zimbabwe bar minutes later after meeting a through ball and outpacing the minnows' backline.
Ultimately, Zimbabwe's defence weren't able to hold on, failing to clear their lines as the match ticked past 90 minutes, with Mostafa's greater physicality recycling an opportunity and knocking down to Salah to finish beyond Arubi.
Mo Salah scored an injury time winner for Egypt vs. Zimbabwe, but didn't want to talk to the media after the game.
Zambia and Mali draw, Bafana beat Angola
In the day's earlier fixtures, Zambia and Mali cancelled each other out in a 1-1 Group A draw in Casablanca, while South Africa saw off COSAFA rivals Angola 2-1 to begin their Group B campaign with a win in Marrakesh.
Mali, tipped as one of the potential dark horses for this title, took the lead through Lassine Sinayoko in the 61st minute, having earlier missed a penalty through El Bilal Toure.
However, their inability to convert their dominance to further goals ultimately cost them as the Chipolopolo equalised in the 92nd minute when Patson Daka ended his poor run in front of goal, meeting Matthews Banda's cross with a courageous diving header to ensure the points were shared.
The Leicester City striker made a hash of his attempted somersault celebration, face-planting the turf as his arm appeared to slip, leading to the forward lying prone on the turf until getting up to be congratulated by his teammates.
Next up, Zambia face Comoros -- defeated 2-0 by hosts Morocco in the tournament opener -- in Casablanca on December 26, with Mali up against the Atlas Lions in a Boxing Day showdown in Rabat.
In Group B, South Africa saw off Angola in a scrappy 2-1 victory in Marrakech, with Lyle Foster netting a 79th-minute winner as he beat Hugo Marques from range, compensating for a poor miss moments earlier.
Oswin Appollis gave Bafana Bafana the lead after 21 minutes with a powerful right-footed effort, but his strike was cancelled out by Show 14 minutes later when he stretched to turn a Fredy freekick beyond Ronwen Williams.
South Africa and Egypt meet in Agadir on December 26 in one of the most anticipated matches of the group stage, with Angola set to face off with another COSAFA foe in Zimbabwe earlier on the same day in Marrakesh.