AFCON 2021: Egypt see off rivals Morocco to set up semifinal clash with Cameroon
Egypt booked their place in the semi-finals of the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations, Cameroon 2021 with a hard fought 2-1 victory over Morocco at the Stade Ahmadou Ahidjo.
Captain Mohamed Salah and substitute Mahmoud Hassan Trezeguet scored for the Pharaohs who went behind after Boufal converted an early penalty for the Atlas Lions.
The derby lived up to its billing as Morocco won a penalty in the second minutes following a late on Hakimi by Egypt’s Ayman Ashraf.
Soufiane Boufal made no mistake from 12 yards when he calmly slotted past stand in keeper Mohamed Kotb Gabal.
Despite going behind the Pharaohs settled into the match and came close to levelling the score after 19 minutes when Ashraf hit a fierce strike straight at Bounou.
The Atlas Lions keeper was again called to action to deny Marmoush as Egypt enjoy a good spell of dominance.
The second half saw a much more ambitious Egyptian side with the introduction of Trezequet helping the Pharaohs with more presence in the Moroccan box.
Salah equalised for Egypt with a close range tap in after Bounou had stopped Abdelmoneim’s diving header 12 minutes after the restart.
Morocco captain Ghanem Saiss denied Omar Marmoush from scoring with an inch perfect last ditch tackle.
The Atlas Lions saw defender Nayef Aguerd’s header turned against the woodwork by Gabal who filled in for the injured El Shenawy.
The two giants headed to extra time to settle the quarter final with Trezequet scoring the winner with a tap in from Salah’s cross.
After 120 minutes of action, Mohammed Salah was adjudged the man of the match as his goal in the second half and assist to Trezeguet in extra time ensured the Pharoah’s got the better of their North African rivals.Upon receiving his award, he commended the efforts of his teammates and expressed how far they are willing to go for the trophy.
“I think we played a good game against a very good Moroccan team. My teammates do what is necessary in each game and give everything to go as far as possible.”
:Playing two games in a row with extra-time is not easy, but I can tell you that we are well and we are having a very good tournament.”
The Pharaohs will now play hosts Cameroon in the semi-finals in Yaounde on Thursday.
