Qualifiers: Egypt and the emotional postcards from their qualification to Russia 2018

With a goal in the 95th minute by Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah, Egypt defeated Congo 2-1 on Sunday and qualified for the 2018 World Cup, becoming the second African country to do so after Nigeria.

Salah opened the scoring for the Pharaohs in the second half (63) and the Congolese equalized two minutes before the end through Bouka Moutou (88), but the Red forward qualified his team by converting a penalty in injury time.

Egypt, the African country with the most continental titles, will play their third World Cup, having previously done so in 1934 and 1990.

The Egyptian national team has been led by Argentine Héctor Cúper since 2015, constantly facing criticism, which led him to admit that he takes medication for anxiety.

"I take medication for hypertension caused by the stress I suffer due to the continuous criticism," acknowledged the former Lanús, Mallorca, and Inter Milan player.

"Life is full of stress, but the challenge of reaching the World Cup is the most stressful thing I have ever faced," he added.

The new generation of young Egyptians hopes to shine in Russia alongside their star Salah, who moved from Roma to Liverpool months ago for a fee between 42 and 50 million euros.

The legendary 44-year-old goalkeeper Essam El Hadary and the Stoke City prodigy Ramadan Sobhi fuel the dreams of a country that has experienced constant political turmoil since the Arab Spring in 2011.

With this victory, Egypt accumulated 12 points, unreachable for Uganda (8) and Ghana (6), although the Black Stars announced on Sunday that they have asked FIFA to repeat their Saturday match against Uganda.

In that game, which ended in a goalless draw, the referee disallowed a goal for Ghana in the 94th minute for a non-existent offside, as the scorer took advantage of a rebound from the opposing goalkeeper.