MOROCCO — Sadio Mané struck a late winner as Senegal defeated Egypt 1-0 in Wednesday’s first Africa Cup of Nations semifinal in Tanger, ending his former Liverpool teammate Mohamed Salah‘s dreams of a maiden AFCON title.
Senegal will now face Morocco in the final on Sunday, after the hosts beat Nigeria in a shootout in the day’s second semifinal.
This rematch of the 2021 final — won by Senegal on penalties after Mane struck the decisive spotkick — was framed as a meeting of the two former club mates and rivals, both among the finest attacking players Africa has ever produced.
While Salah had scored four in four at the Nations Cup en route to the semi, it was Mane who struck the winner in a contest short on chances, chesting down in the 78th minute before lashing low beyond a very hard-working Mohamed El Shenawy.
Senegal now advance to their fourth Nations Cup final, while Egypt will be left regretting an excessively cautious approach that failed to yield an effort on goal before the last ten minutes.
The first half was a particularly turgid affair, marked by two bookings that ensured neither Hossam Abdelmaguid nor Kalidou Koulibaly would take part in the final should their team advance.
The former was booked in the sixth minute after pulling back Nicolas Jackson as he moved into a dangerous position, while Koulibaly, again looking short of pace and match sharpness, brought down Omar Marmoush for his second yellow of the tournament 11 minutes later.
The veteran defender, who has already served a suspension this tournament after being sent off against Benin, was replaced with injury in the 23rd minute with an apparent groin problem, with 20-year-old Mamadou Sarr coming on in his place.
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Senegal enjoyed the better of the first half as Egypt showed little ambition, although despite dominating the ball, they struggled to forge clear-cut goalscoring opportunities; Pape Gueye firing straight at El Shenawy in the 32nd minute after Habib Diarra’s attempt from range was neutralised by a deflection.
A clash between Salah and Mane just before halftime threatened to ignite a dull contest, leading to a clash between the two sets of technical staff which forced an extended pause, while Diarra also received a caution that rules him out of the final.
As the second half wore on, Senegal’s urgency intensified, with Lamine Camara, on for Diarra, sending a powerful effort at goal from outside the area, forcing a save from El Shenawy, while Egypt’s attempted long balls up to Marmoush repeatedly led to needless turnovers.
The breakthrough came 12 minutes from time, when Camara’s effort was blocked and the ball bounced out fortuitously to Mane, on the edge of the box. He brought it down — amidst some shouts of handball — before instinctively firing low into the near corner of the Egyptian goal.
Soon after, Pape Gueye could have sealed progression with an effort from inside the box, only to skew his effort wide, while Egypt finally had their first attempt of the match in the 84th minute when Mostafa Mohamed‘s header failed to hit the target.
As they finally attempted to switch their mindset to actually seek a goal, Marmoush sent a powerful attempt on goal in the fifth minute of stoppage time from the edge of the box, but Édouard Mendy was equal to the late threat.
Senegal advance to their third final in the last four AFCON tournaments, while Egypt lose an AFCON semi for the first time in 42 years, with Salah’s hunt for the continental crown that his nation have won a record seven times coming to an end in Tanger.