Mohamed Salah is one step closer to realising his long-held dream of winning the AFCON (Africa Cup of Nations) with Egypt as the Pharaohs chase a record-extending eighth continental title in Morocco.
The 33-year-old forward has lifted major honours with Liverpool – including the Premier League and Champions League titles – but Africa’s most coveted prize has eluded him. A two-time AFCON runner-up, Salah is aiming to finally go one step further with pre-tournament favourites Senegal his next hurdle in the first semifinal on Wednesday. Senegal, Africa’s second highest ranked nation at 19th in the world, feature in the AFCON semifinals for the third time in the last four editions.
Boasting the likes of Sadio Mane and Kalidou Koulibaly, the Teranga Lions have no dearth of talent or depth across their squad. Senegal ended their group campaign unbeaten, registering two wins and a draw to finish top of Group D with seven points, edging the Democratic Republic of the Congo on goal difference. In the round of 16, they overcame an early scare to beat lowly Sudan 3-1. In the quarterfinals, Senegal became the first team to reach the final four with a narrow 1-0 win over West African neighbours Mali.
Egypt enjoyed a similar record in the group stage, finishing top of Group B with seven points. They defeated Benin 3-1 in the round of 16 before knocking out the title holders Ivory Coast 3-2 in a thrilling quarterfinal. The winner of this match will face the victor of the second semifinal between Nigeria and host nation Morocco.
Striker Nicolas Jackson and central midfielder Pape Gueye have both delivered match-winning performances for the Super Eagles, scoring two goals apiece, while Cherif Ndiaye has also found the net twice with both goals coming off the bench. Veteran winger Mane remains a linchpin for Senegal alongside midfielder Iliman Ndiaye, whose decisive contribution sealed their semifinal qualification, and 17-year-old sensation Ibrahim Mbaye continues to play with a maturity well beyond his years. Salah, arguably the biggest African football star of his generation, is Egypt’s highest scorer at the tournament with four goals, tied for second on the AFCON top scorers list behind Morocco’s Brahim Diaz.
The Liverpool attacking winger arrived in Morocco short of his usual world class standards, but Salah has swiftly returned to the red-hot form that earned him the nickname “the Egyptian King”. Sublimely talented Manchester City forward Omar Marmoush (two goals) leads the Egyptian attacking line while centre back Rami Rabia and midfielder Hamdi Fathi are key contributors in defence. Senegal and Egypt have met in 15 previous encounters across friendly and competitive matches.
Egypt have a slight edge in the head-to-head record with seven wins while Senegal have won six times. Two games ended in a draw. The teams last met in a FIFA World Cup qualifying playoff in March 2022.
It was the second leg of the playoff tie, in which Senegal won 3-1 on penalties as Egypt failed to qualify for the global showpiece. Salah missed a penalty in that decisive fixture. This is Senegal’s 18th appearance at the tournament with their best result a maiden championship title at AFCON 2021 in Cameroon.
They were also runners-up twice, in 2002 and 2019. Egypt are record seven-time AFCON winners with title victories in 1957, 1959, 1986, 1998, 2006, 2008 and 2010 and were also runners-up three times, in 1962, 2017 and 2021. Senegal coach Pape Thiaw has no new injury concerns.
Midfielder Mohamed Hamdi, who picked up an injury in the round of 16, is unavailable, but, otherwise, Egypt’s coach Hossam Hassan has a fit squad.
