Liverpool's Mo Salah closer to AFCON glory as Egypt dethrone champions
by AFP · The42Collated Africa Cup of Nations quarter-finals results:
- Algeria 0 Nigeria 2
- Egypt 3 Ivory Coast 2
- Mali 0 Senegal 1
- Cameroon 0 Morocco 2
MO SALAH scored as Egypt won 3-2 to dump defending champions Ivory Coast out of the Africa Cup of Nations in a thrilling quarter-final on Saturday.
Omar Marmoush and Ramy Rabia netted for Egypt, then Ahmed Aboul-Fetouh conceded an own goal before half-time.
Salah then edged closer to a first Africa Cup of Nations winners’ medal by doubling the lead soon after the break before Guela Doue pulled a goal back for the Ivory Coast.
The jubilant Egyptians will face Senegal on Wednesday in Tangiers, with the winners meeting hosts Morocco or Nigeria four days later in the final.
“I want to thank the players immensely. They are true Egyptians who fight for the happiness of their people,” said coach Hossam Hassan.
“The success belongs to the players, starting with Salah and Marmoush, who lead the press from the front. We know there will be spaces, and our players can exploit them.”
The triumph in Agadir confirmed the AFCON dominance of Egypt over the Ivory Coast since they first met 56 years ago. The Pharaohs have won 11 times and the Elephants just once.
Ivory Coast became the eighth consecutive title-holders unable to successfully defend the title since Egypt achieved the feat in 2010.
Salah has helped Liverpool win the Premier League, FA Cup, League Cup, Champions League and Club World Cup, in its previous format, but the most prized African medal has eluded him.
The 33-year-old has twice been a runner-up after losses in the AFCON final to Cameroon in 2017 and Senegal five years later. He was also in Egyptian teams that twice made unexpected last-16 exits.
Now he is two matches away from realising his long-time dream of helping Egypt win the AFCON a record-extending eighth time.
Salah arrived in Morocco for the premier African sporting event amid uncertainty over his future at Liverpool after a post-match outburst following a draw at Leeds United.
The Egyptian, demoted to the substitutes’ bench after a run of poor results by the Anfield outfit, claimed he had been “thrown under the bus”.
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- Clinical best -
But he has been back to his predatory best at the AFCON, scoring the match winners against Zimbabwe and South Africa at the group stage, then the goal that sealed a last-16 victory over Benin.
On Saturday, Egypt took the lead just 182 seconds after the kick-off through Manchester City striker Marmoush.
Ivory Coast lost possession, Emam Ashour delivered a superb pass, and Marmoush took advantage of Odilon Kossounou slipping to beat goalkeeper Yahia Fofana.
Egypt increased their lead on 32 minutes when centre-back Rabia soared above Ibrahim Sangare at the far post to meet a Salah corner, and his looping header beat Fofana.
The defending champions were rattled and needed to score. It came after 40 minutes when Egyptian Aboul-Fetouh conceded an own goal.
Yan Diomande, the 19-year-old RB Leipzig striker, floated a free kick into the heart of the six-yard box, Kossounou nodded the ball goalwards, and it entered the net off the midriff of Aboul-Fetouh.
Salah restored Egypt’s two-goal lead just seven minutes into the second half, and once again, Ashour from African club giants Al Ahly was the creator.
The midfielder gained possession on the left wing, and his low, curved cross was perfectly weighted for Salah to push the ball into the net despite being under pressure from Ghislain Konan.
Ivory Coast, who overcame a two-goal deficit to beat Gabon in a group match, once again halved the deficit after 73 minutes.
Egypt failed to clear a corner, and Doue flicked the ball past 37-year-old goalkeeper Mohamed El Shenawy to set up a tense finish.
Earlier, Victor Osimhen scored one goal and set up another as Nigeria beat Algeria 2-0 in their Africa Cup of Nations quarter-final on Saturday to set up a last-four showdown with hosts Morocco.
Nigeria dominated the first half in Marrakesh without scoring before getting the breakthrough within two minutes of the restart as Osimhen headed in.
The 2023 African player of the year then turned provider for the second goal just before the hour mark, setting up Akor Adams to put the Super Eagles out of sight.
Runners-up at the last AFCON two years ago in the Ivory Coast, Nigeria came to Morocco still smarting from their failure to qualify for the upcoming World Cup, but are dreaming of winning a fourth continental title here.
They were not intimidated by a Marrakesh crowd of 32,452, which was almost entirely given over to the Algerian cause, but the atmosphere is likely to be far more hostile for Wednesday’s semi-final in Rabat.
Algeria had beaten Nigeria en route to winning their last Cup of Nations title in Egypt in 2019, and this has been by far their best campaign at the tournament since then.
Their large support, which descended on a stadium set against the backdrop of the Atlas Mountains, was full of optimism after Vladimir Petkovic’s side had impressed in the group stage and edged out the Democratic Republic of Congo in the last 16.
Yet a team featuring a formidable front three of Riyad Mahrez, Ibrahim Maza and Mohamed Amoura failed to muster a single shot in the first half and were lucky to be level at half-time.
Nigeria almost scored just before the half-hour mark, when ‘keeper Luca Zidane got nowhere near an Ademola Lookman free-kick delivery, and Calvin Bassey turned the ball towards goal.
However, Ramy Bensebaini got there just in time to hook it away from the line.
- Four in four -
They then should certainly have scored in the 37th minute as Adams found himself clean through, but blazed his shot over the bar.
However, Eric Chelle’s half-time team-talk clearly worked as his Nigeria side wasted no time getting their noses in front at the start of the second half.
Alex Iwobi found Bruno Onyemaechi on the left, and his deep cross to the back post was headed low into the net by Osimhen for the opener.
The masked Galatasaray striker had gone seven Cup of Nations matches without finding the net before scoring against Tunisia in the group stage. He now has four goals in his last four matches.
Nigeria are also the tournament’s top scorers overall with 14 goals in total after Adams made it 2-0 — Osimhen was released in behind and unselfishly squared for the Sevilla striker to round Zidane and finish for his second goal in as many games.
Adams could have had another as he headed off the post when Osimhen held the ball up for him from the line, while Algeria never really looked like coming back.
Tensions spilt over between the teams on the pitch at full-time, but it is next stop Rabat for the Super Eagles.