CAMEROON captain Vincent Aboubakar has played down Egypt’s Mohamed Salah’s threat as the two forwards get set to clash in the second semi-final of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations on Thursday night.
The continent’s two most successful national teams will battle for a place in Sunday’s final, with hosts Cameroon seeking their sixth AFCON title and Egypt their eighth.
While Aboubakar is the top scorer in the 2021 AFCON with six goals from five matches, Salah has netted only twice as the Pharaohs recovered from an opening defeat to Nigeria to make it through to the last four stage.
However, Salah is a bigger name internationally through his exploits for Liverpool.
Salah finished third behind Robert Lewandowski and Lionel Messi in the voting for the 2021 FIFA Men’s Player of the Year, but Aboubakar still does not rate the Egypt forward highly.
“I see it as before,” Al Nassr of Saudi Arabia striker Aboubakar, 30, told RFI. “He is having a great season in the Premier League, he is helping his country to advance in the competition. I wish him a lot of luck. May the best win!
“He doesn’t impress me much. I say it clearly because I’m an honest person and I have my way of seeing things. If he impressed me, I would say so. But he doesn’t impress me much.
“He’s a good player, he scores a lot but he doesn’t produce a lot of stuff in the game.
“Of course, he’s doing good stuff in the Premier League because he’s been in a team that’s been there for years.
“He’s a good player but not at the level of some like [Kylian] Mbappé.”
Salah, 29, has been in brilliant form this season, producing 23 goals and nine assists in just 26 games for Liverpool.
