Mohamed Salah continued his brilliant Africa Cup of Nations campaign as Egypt defeated defending champions Ivory Coast 3-2 to book a place in the semi-finals. The Liverpool star netted his fourth goal of the tournament, keeping alive his dream of finally lifting the AFCON trophy.
Salah Leads Egypt’s Semi-Final Push
Egypt dominated large spells of the quarter-final in Agadir. Omar Marmoush and Rami Rabia struck in the first half to put the Pharaohs in control. Ivory Coast were handed a lifeline through an Ahmed Abouel-Fetoh own goal, but Salah restored Egypt’s two-goal cushion shortly after the break.
“𝑾𝒆 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒅 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒃𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒇 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒊𝒕 𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒎𝒐𝒔𝒕,” 𝑺𝒂𝒍𝒂𝒉 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅 𝒂𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒄𝒉.
Although Guellali pulled one back, the Ivorians could not find an equaliser, as Egypt held firm to seal a dramatic victory.
AFCON Dream Still Alive for Salah
At 33, Salah remains one of Africa’s most decorated footballers at club level, yet continental glory has so far eluded him. He has already featured in two AFCON finals without lifting the trophy.
“𝑾𝒊𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑨𝑭𝑪𝑶𝑵 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒎𝒆𝒂𝒏 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒎𝒆,” 𝑺𝒂𝒍𝒂𝒉 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒐𝒖𝒔𝒍𝒚 𝒂𝒅𝒎𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒅.
The forward has now scored against Zimbabwe, South Africa, Benin, and the Ivory Coast in this tournament. Egypt will face Senegal in the semi-finals, setting up a potential emotional clash with long-time Liverpool teammate Sadio Mane should both sides reach the final.
Elsewhere, Nigeria beat Algeria 2-0 in Marrakech, with Victor Osimhen scoring once and assisting another, to secure a semi-final meeting with hosts Morocco.
With just two matches separating Salah from AFCON history, Egypt’s title hopes remain very much alive.
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