By John Essien
The Pharaohs of Egypt came from behind to beat Morocco 2-1 on Sunday as goals from Mohamed Salah and Trezeguet punched the ticket for the AFCON semi-final .
Egypt started the game on a wrong foot, having trailed their North African rivals by a goal when Soufiane Boufal scored first following a foul on Achraf Hakimi in the box.
It took several minutes for the referee to review VAR and then for the penalty to go ahead.
Despite the lead, the Moroccans were untroubled in the first half by an Egyptian XI who struggled to break down Moroccan defence as the game entered extra time.
The Liverpool striker was at the heart of Egypt’s winner after teeing up Trezeguet for a goal on 100th minute, taking the seven-time winners into the semis.
Salah, who has struggled since the start of the tournament, seem to have rediscovered his touch today by scoring and grabing an assist to take his tally to six AFCON goals – equaling Aboutrika’s feat of all-time Egyptian scorer.
With the win, Pharaohs now hold the record (16) for the most semi-final appearances ever made, surpassing the Super Eagles of Nigeria.
Egypt will now face host Cameroon in the semi-final on Thursday, February 2nd 2022.
