Liverpool of England stars Mohammed Salah of Egypt and Sadio Mane of Senegal will clash on Sunday in the grand final of the 33rd Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Cameroon.
The Pharaohs of Egypt ensured that by overcoming hosts Indomitable Lions of Cameroon this Thursday night in a thrilling semi-final clash in Olembe.
The match ended goalless after full and extra time, with Cameroon having two of their first four kicks saved by Egyptian goalkeeper Gabaski while the fourth was off target whereas the Pharaohs scored all theirs.
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Senegal had yesterday booked a place in the final by beating Burkina Faso 3-1 in the first semi-final. Cameroon will thus meet the Burkinabes in Saturday’s third-place match.
To reach the final stage, the Seven-time African champions had underwhelmed in its start in Cameroon, losing their opener against the Super Eagles of Nigeria and then only scraping past Guinea-Bissau in its second group game, thanks to Mohamed Salah’s goal and a brilliant late equalizer by Guinea-Bissau being contentiously disallowed.
Egypt saw off Sudan 1-0 in their final Group D game in Yaounde, confirming its place in the round of 16 after qualifying second in the group behind Nigeria. Sudan won the title in 1970 but has gone past the group stage just once in the 52 years since then.
And then, the Ivory Coast were beaten 5-4 on penalties by the Pharaohs of Egypt, following a 0-0 draw during regulation time.
The Pharaohs overcame the shock of conceding an early penalty to dispatch their North African rival the Altas Lions of Morocco after extra time and move on to the last 4 stages.
The Liverpool of England stars Mohammed Salah of Egypt showed some of his best skill in this AFCON tournament.