CAIRO, June 30 (Xinhua) -- Hosts Egypt beat Uganda 2-0 here on Sunday evening in the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), easing into the knockout round of 16 as Group A leaders with three wins.

Egypt's talisman, Liverpool star Mohamed Salah, opened the scoring from a fabulous free kick in the 36th minute and midfielder Ahmed Elmohamady scored the second right before the break.

Named Man of the Match, Elmohamady told reporters that the Pharaohs performed well and made a good show, noting that Uganda were close to score but his team defended vigorously.

"We will start from tomorrow preparing for the round of 16 and we will go ahead in the championship until we hold the title," he added.

Egypt are the number one AFCON title holders, for they won the championship seven times in their history, including three times in a row, the latest of which was in 2010.

Uganda will still advance to the knockouts as the Group A runners-up with four points, while DR Congo come third with three points and Zimbabwe bid farewell to the tournament with one point.

AFCON 2019 features 24 teams instead of 16 for the first time in its history.

The knockout round of 16 will include the top two of the six groups and the best four third-placed finishers.

Held in Egypt for the fifth time, Africa's biggest continental soccer competition kicked off on June 21 and will close on July 19. Enditem

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