Salah seals Egypt win against holders Ivory Coast to reach AFCON 2025 semis

Egypt acceptable up semifinal gathering with Senegal astatine 2025 Africa Cup of Nations by beating Ivory Coast 3-2 successful thriller.

Mohamed Salah scored, and Egypt eliminated the defending champions, Ivory Coast, to determination into the 2025 CAF Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) semifinals with a 3-2 victory.

Liverpool guardant Salah nabbed his 4th extremity of the tourney – Egypt’s 3rd of the crippled – successful the 52nd infinitesimal of Saturday’s encounter, and the Pharaohs needed it, arsenic Ivory Coast threatened to doubly travel backmost from 2 goals down.

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Egypt, however, held connected successful Agadir contempt relentless Ivorian pressure, and booked a semifinal day with 2021 champions Senegal successful Tangier connected Wednesday.

Ivory Coast had a woeful start, arsenic Franck Kessie mislaid the shot successful the midfield aft a mediocre interaction and Odilon Kossounou fell implicit alternatively of cutting retired Emam Ashour’s shot for Omar Marmoush, who scored successful the 4th minute.

Ramy Rabia produced a superb artifact to sphere the lead, and past scored himself with a header from a country successful the 32nd.

Ivory Coast yet pulled 1 backmost 5 minutes earlier the break, erstwhile Ahmed Abou El Fotouh bundled successful a unsafe Yan Diomande escaped kick, which Kossounou headed on.

Egypt’s Mohamed Salah scores their 3rd extremity against Ivory Coast [Siphiwe Sibeko/Reuters]

Salah restored Egypt’s two-goal cushion aboriginal successful the 2nd half, erstwhile Rabia caught the Ivorian defence retired with a agelong shot for Ashour, who acceptable up Salah with the extracurricular of his boot.

Guela Doue pulled different 1 backmost with his bottommost successful a goalmouth scramble, aft goalkeeper Mohamed El-Shenawy clawed the shot distant successful the 73rd, but the equaliser ne'er came.

Egypt are bidding for a record-extending eighth AFCON title.

Earlier, three-time champions Nigeria, who mislaid the last to Ivory Coast successful the past edition, beat Algeria 2-0 to acceptable up a semifinal gathering with Morocco.

The Super Eagles are bidding to triumph the rubric for the archetypal clip since 2013.

It would assistance marque up for the disappointment of failing to suffice for the World Cup, successful opposition with the squad they defeated successful the quarterfinal, Algeria.