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YAOUNDE. — Mohamed Salah set up an African Cup of Nations final showdown with Liverpool pal Sadio Mane after Egypt beat hosts Cameroon 3-1 on penalties in the semi-final on Thursday night.
Cameroon striker Vincent Aboubakar said before the semi that Salah was no Kylian Mbappe — but the Kop star had the last laugh as he was not even needed in the shootout.
The two sides played out a 0-0 draw over the course of 120 minutes.
But it was Egypt who progressed on spot-kicks after blundering Cameroon missed THREE consecutive penalties.
And Egypt will chase African Cup of Nations immortality when they face Senegal in the final at the Olembe Stadium in Yaounde tomorrow night.
Kick-off is at 9pm.
Egypt overcame Cameroon in the second semi-final played on Thursday night, with a hard-fought match ending goalless after 120 minutes, before the North Africans triumphed on penalties.
This has given the Pharaohs the chance to claim a record-extending eighth AFCON title and further underline that the North African nation is indeed the greatest football power on the African continent.
Egypt coach Carlos Queiroz stated: “Words like fear have been erased from our dictionary. In our football dictionary, there is the word respect. We have great respect for our opponents and their players, because they are performing well and scoring goals. But we are ready.”
Senegal, meanwhile, powered past Burkina Faso in the first semi-final on Wednesday night: goals from Abdou Diallo, Idrissa Gueye and Sadio Mane saw off the challenge of the Stallions and put the Teranga Lions into a second successive AFCON final and third overall.
Coach Aliou Cisse was involved in the previous two (as a player in 2002 and coach in 2019) and will be determined to see the West African nation shrug off their status as one of the best teams never to win the Nations Cup.
“We know it will be a very difficult final,” said Cisse.
“I congratulate my players because we have come a long way.
“They had the right mentality. I can assure you that the best quality of a player in the national team is having the right mentality.”
He added, “What matters to us is winning the African Cup… We will face a great African team and we will be ready.”
In head-to-head stats, Senegal and Egypt have met in 12 matches across all competitions dating back as far as 1986.
The Pharaohs have claimed six wins compared to four for the Teranga Lions, while two games have been drawn.
The teams’ most recent meetings were in the qualifiers for the 2015 AFCON, with Senegal winning 2-0 in Dakar in September 2014 and 1-0 in Cairo in November 2014 — Mame Biram Diouf (two) and Sadio Mane shared the three goals for the West Africans.
On Thursday night against Cameroon, Salah was at the centre of the action throughout a tense — and sometimes drab — affair but was not required to take a spot-kick after three catastrophic efforts from Cameroon handed the Pharaohs victory and set up a final with Senegal tomorrow night. — AFP.
Online Reporter