Olimpicos — scoring directly from a corner kick — are a rare occurrence at the top level of football. Goalkeepers are usually too astute, too tall and too athletic to allow someone to score from a corner. But this Mo Salah Olimpico on Friday showed it’s not impossible.
Salah was in Cairo with the Egyptian national team for a Group J Africa Cup of Nations qualifying match against Eswatini, which until earlier this year was known as Swaziland. In the end, it was an easy 4-1 victory for the Pharaohs, to be expected from a team that qualified for the World Cup against a team ranked 136th in the world.
Perhaps more surprising than the Mo Salah Olimpico itself, however, was the goal from Eswatini’s Sibonginkhosi Gamedze, which was even better than the Liverpool man's goal.
Egypt cruised in the first half, scoring two goals in the opening 10 minutes through Ahmed el-Mohammadi and Amr Warda. It was 3-0 half an hour in when Trezeguet scored.
Just before halftime, it was time for the Mo Salah Olimpico. You can see it in his eyes before the kick, the winger deciding he’s going to go for goal, a slight smile appearing on his face giving away his intentions.
The poor Eswatini goalkeeper had to be feeling pretty low at this point to have conceded four goals in the first half, the last one an Olimpico.
But, at least he wasn’t on the receiving end of Eswatini’s lone goal of the match.
In the 85th minute, with Egypt already having wrapped up the three points, Gamedze launched a shot from about six yards inside the Egyptian half, catching the Pharaohs keeper out for an impressive goal.
Gamedze couldn’t even enjoy his remarkable goal, however, opting not to celebrate considering his team was still down by three goals.
But he can always tell his grandchildren about the day he upstaged a Mo Salah Olimpico.
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