Egypt’s talismanic player, Mohamed Salah has expressed sadness over his country’s ouster from the Africa Cup of Nations. Consequently, he has apologized to his countrymen.

“I’m very sad about our early exit from the Africa Cup of Nations. We had hoped to continue on the road to the title together, and give it to the fans, whom I thank for their continuous support.

“God willing we will learn from the mistakes we’ve made. And I wish good luck for the national team in the upcoming period,” the 27-year-old winger tweeted on his official account, as revealed and translated by Al Ahram.

The tweet came after the massive criticism that the national team faced, after losing from South Africa on Saturday 1-0, which caused the sacking the technical staff and the resignation of the Egyptian Football Association’s (EFA) board.

The former AS Roma winger, Salah has participated in all four of Egypt’s matches and scored two goals.

Egypt will bid farewell to the 2019 AFCON unexpectedly from the first knockout phase, after the Bafana Bafana midfielder Thembinkosi Lorch scored a late goal in the 85th minute of the game. The Pharaohs managed to control the ball over the game with 63% of possession, but without effectiveness and missed opportunities to score.

The hosts have qualified for the round of 16 with three successive victories against Zimbabwe, DR Congo, and Uganda.