Mohamed Salah heads for Morocco this week to captain Egypt in the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) amid uncertainty over his future at Liverpool.

Salah came off the bench midway through the first half and set up the second goal in a 2-0 Premier League win over Brighton at the weekend.

After the match, manager Arne Slot said there was “no issue to resolve” with his star forward, but speculation continues to rumble over the Egyptian’s future after his outburst last weekend.

AFP Sport highlights African headline-makers in the major European leagues:

ENGLAND

MOHAMED SALAH (Liverpool)

The 33-year-old came on as a substitute and seized his chance by setting up Liverpool’s second goal for Hugo Ekitike. Salah had been left out of Liverpool’s squad for Tuesday’s Champions League victory at Inter Milan after his explosive rant about Slot following the recent draw at Leeds. That was the third successive game that Salah had been left on the bench and his furious claim that he had been “thrown under the bus” hinted at a potential departure from the troubled Premier League champions during the January transfer window.

CALVIN BASSEY (Fulham)

The Nigeria defender scored in his side’s 3-2 win at Burnley. Bassey grabbed Fulham’s second goal to put them 2-1 up in the 31st minute en route to their first victory at Turf Moor since 1951. The 25-year-old’s close-range header from Harry Wilson’s cross was his first goal since an FA Cup tie against Manchester United in March.

IBRAHIM SANGARE (Nottingham Forest)

The Ivory Coast midfielder capped his side’s 3-0 victory over Tottenham with the final goal. Sangare netted in the 79th minute at the City Ground, bending a superb strike in off the post with the outside of his foot. The 28-year-old’s second goal this season — and his first in seven matches — helped boost Forest’s bid to avoid relegation.

SPAIN

AKOR ADAMS, CHIDERA EJUKE (Sevilla)

Nigerians Adams and Ejuke celebrated AFCON call-ups with a goal each as Sevilla hammered Real Oviedo 4-0 in La Liga. Adams opened the scoring in the fourth minute and Ejuke completed the rout with one minute of regular time remaining.

GERMANY

MOHAMED AMOURA (Wolfsburg)

Amoura scored for the second straight match in Wolfburg’s 3-1 Bundesliga win at Borussia Moenchengladbach. With the teams level after 34 minutes, Amoura was on the spot to blast in a deflected Christian Eriksen cross, putting the visitors back in front. The 25-year-old has six goals and two assists for Wolfsburg in the league this season.

RAMY BENSEBAINI (Borussia Dortmund)

Borussia defender Bensebaini scored his side’s only goal in a disappointing 1-1 draw at Freiburg. With Dortmund teammate and Guinea international Serhou Guirassy struggling in front of goal and missing chances, Bensebaini took matters into his own hands with 31 minutes gone. The Algerian latched onto a Yan Couto free-kick and blasted home from close range.

FRANCE

HIMAD ABDELLI, HAROUNA DJIBIRIN (Angers)

Algerian Abdelli converted an early penalty and Cameroonian Djibirin restored a two-goal lead on 85 minutes as mid-table Angers trounced lowly Nantes 4-1 in Ligue 1. Both Africans were scoring their second goals of the league campaign.

The Minnesota Vikings may be eliminated from the playoffs, but the Dallas Cowboys technically weren’t heading into their Sunday night matchup at AT&T Stadium.

The Cowboys’ chances are now at rock bottom after falling to the Vikings, 34-26, on Sunday night.

The Vikings are now 6-8 on the season, while the Cowboys fell to 6-7-1. And though they’re not technically eliminated, the Cowboys’ playoff chances are hanging by a thread now.

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It was an inauspicious start for the Vikings in this contest, as J.J. McCarthy very first pass attempt was an interception, as it was tipped at the line by a blitzing Donovan Wilson and Quinnen Williams looked up and hauled it in.

Dak Prescott and the Cowboys’ offense had tremendous field position for their opening drive, and though it took 11 plays to go 35 yards, Javonte Williams was able to nail it into the end zone for the 7-0 lead.

It also wouldn’t have happened without a fake field goal, as Brandon Aubrey, one of the most trusted legs in the NFL, ran for a first down on fourth-and-4 from the Minnesota 29-yard line. However, Aubrey would come up in a not so good way later in this game.

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The Vikings were finally able to get something going after the field was flipped on their third drive when Aaron Jones was pushed out of bounds on an 18-yard reception, and the Cowboys were called for a horse collar tackle, tacking on 15 yards. On the very next play, McCarthy fired a touchdown pass to Jalen Nailor — his first of two scores in this one — to tie the game at seven apiece.

The second quarter brought about a wave of offense on both sides, as Dallas responded with Malik Davis rushing one in from a yard out, while McCarthy capped a 75-yard drive with a perfectly executed fake handoff on Dallas’ one-yard line for a walk-in touchdown.

On the ensuing drive, Aubrey, who again has one of the most reliable legs in the game, missed just his third field goal attempt of the year, this one from 51 yards out. After Will Reichard nailed one, Aubrey had some redemption before halftime, as both teams tallied 17 points.

Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott (4) looks to throw during the first half against the Minnesota Vikings at AT&T Stadium on Dec. 14, 2025. (Kevin Jairaj/Imagn Images)

In the second half, the Cowboys ended up with a 23-17 lead thanks to two more Aubrey field goals, but seven points is what they were hoping for. McCarthy helped make it happen with a big pass to Nailor to set up the Vikings in the red zone.

After Justin Jefferson, who struggled in this one despite the targets, not hauling in a touchdown pass, C.J. Ham buried a one-yard touchdown to make it 24-23 after the extra point.

Prescott tried to match his second-year counterpart, but the Cowboys stalled on Minnesota’s 41-yard line. At 59 yards out, it’s well within Aubrey’s range, but he missed yet again. All four of his field goal misses this season have been from 50 yards and beyond.

Now, with the ball near midfield, the Vikings had a chance to further their lead and they got just what they needed. On 1st-and-goal from the Dallas four-yard line, McCarthy found Nailor again and he celebrated as the Vikings went up 31-23.

The Cowboys would turn the ball over on downs on the ensuing drive, and the Vikings saw Aaron Jones pick up multiple first downs to not only keep the clock running, but force Dallas to use all their timeouts. 

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In the box score, McCarthy was 15-of-24 for 250 yards with two touchdowns and one interception, as Jordan Addison’s 58-yard catch was among some of his great throws.

For the Cowboys, Prescott was 23-of-38 for 294 yards, though he never threw a touchdown pass. CeeDee Lamb led all receivers in this game with 111 yards on six catches, but George Pickens was kept quiet for the second straight game. He had just three catches for 33 yards.

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KANSAS CITY, Mo — Chargers safety Tony Jefferson was ejected after a helmet-to-helmet hit on Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Tyquan Thornton in the fourth quarter of Los Angeles’ 16-13 victory Sunday and left the field in frustration, making an obscene gesture toward fans.

After the game, Jefferson apologized for the gesture. He said that he didn’t have any bad intentions on the hit and thought it was legal but hadn’t yet seen a replay.

“I’m classier than that. I was just caught up in the moment,” Jefferson said. “Emotions get high. I won’t sit here and act like I’m a perfect man. I messed up and I did that. I have kids at home and there’s kids out there watching the game too, so I apologize.”

The play was initially flagged for unnecessary roughness, and a brief skirmish followed before officials disqualified Jefferson. Thornton was put in concussion protocol after the hit.

“I saw a football play,” coach Jim Harbaugh said. “That’s what I saw.”

Jefferson had been physical throughout the game, delivering multiple big hits, including a jarring shot on Chiefs receiver Rashee Rice that forced an incompletion on third down earlier in the game.

“Physicality is a huge part of the game,” he said. “You have to be smart with it.”

Jefferson, who was a healthy inactive for three games this year, has become one of the most important players in the Chargers’ secondary in recent weeks.

Before this season, Jefferson had four interceptions over his first 10 seasons in the NFL. This season, Jefferson is tied for the team lead in interceptions with four while routinely delivering crushing hits to receivers who dare to catch passes over the middle of the field, as he did on Sunday.

“He’s playing really good, really good football,” Harbaugh said.

The Chargers already began Sunday’s game without safety Elijah Molden, who had a hamstring injury. Rookie safety RJ Mickens also went down with a shoulder injury. Without Jefferson, the Chargers had to rely on veteran Marcus Williams, who was elevated from the practice squad, and Kendall Williamson, who typically only plays special teams.