Mohamed Salah helped the Egyptians book a spot in the semi-finals of the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nationsa after a 2-1 comeback victory over Atlas Lions of Morocco.
Sofiane Boufal converted an early penalty for Morocco who took a surprise lead in the 7th minute of the first half.
Egypt captain Salah reacted quickly to knock in a rebound to make it 1-1 in the 53rd and sent in a perfect low cross for Mahmoud Hassan “Trezeguet” to tap in near the end of the first half of extra time.
Salah equalised for the seven-time winners with a close range tap-in after the break and inspired Egypt’s comeback win in extra-time after the Liverpool forward played an excellent pass across goal for Trezeguet to convert.
Egypt will now face host nation Cameroon in the semi-final of the tournament
Senegal outsmart Equatorial Guinea
Egypt and Senegal have reached the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) semi-finals, setting the stage for a potential showdown between Liverpool teammates Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane if their two teams make it to the final.
Salah scored the equaliser and created the winner to beat Morocco 2-1 after extra time on Sunday’s first quarterfinal at the Ahmadou Ahidjo Stadium in Cameroon’s capital, Yaounde.
Senegal will now take on Burkina Faso in the first semifinal on Wednesday when Mane’s team will be aiming to make a second straight final – and rid itself of the unwanted label of “the best team to never win an AFCON title”.
For its part, Egypt will face tournament host Cameroon, a repeat of the 2017 final that Cameroon won. Thursday’s semi-final will also be a clash between the two most successful sides in AFCON history, with 12 titles between them.
Egypt has not won the African Cup since its record-extending seventh title in 2010.
