Mohamed Salah edges closer to breaking his Afcon duck as Egypt set up Senegal semifinal

When Mohamed Salah lamented being benched for successive matches by Liverpool manager Arne Slot in late 2025, one of those who criticised the forward’s comments was Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher.

One of Carragher’s multiple digs at the Egyptian attacker, in trying to prove that Liverpool had “made” Salah, was that the 33-year-old was yet to win an Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) with his country.

In essence, Carragher was saying Salah is good only at Liverpool because he is surrounded by better players than at the national team level.

Semifinals set

It seems Salah and his fellow Egyptians are intent on proving Carragher wrong. The Pharaohs, chasing a record-extending eighth Afcon title, and a first since 2010, reached the semifinals of the 2025 edition by beating holders Ivory Coast 3-2 on Saturday, 10 January.

Salah, who scored his country’s third goal, was named player of the match. Egypt will now face Senegal in what will be a repeat of the 2021 decider, which the Senegalese won 4-2 on penalties.

“I am very happy and proud to play with these guys,” said Salah. “We always want to bring joy to the Egyptian fans, and we believe we can win every match with this mindset.

“I always give my all for my team. I try to bring my experience to help us achieve great things. I always tell my teammates to give everything as soon as they step on the pitch. It’s very important to do that so we have no regrets.”

The Lions of Teranga set up their date with Egypt by beating 10-man Mali 1-0 courtesy of an Iliman Ndiaye goal. Their semifinal tussle is scheduled for Wednesday, 14 January at 7pm South African time.

The second semifinal kicks off three hours later, with host nation Morocco playing three-time African champions Nigeria. The Super Eagles eased 2-0 past 2019 champions Algeria thanks to goals by star striker Victor Osimhen and fellow forward Akor Adams.

Morocco beat Cameroon 2-0 to reach the last-four on home soil. The victory kept alive the Atlas Lions’ dream of clinching their second Afcon title, 50 years after their first success.

Real Madrid attacker Brahim Díaz was once again instrumental in the victory, scoring the opening goal to reach five goals in the 2025 tournament.

“Brahim Díaz is a special player. I congratulate him for his performances,” said Morocco’s coach, Walid Regragui. “We must remain humble because every team wants to beat us, and we must respect all our opponents. Morocco had not reached the semifinals since 2004. Now we are aiming to write more history.”

The Egyptian mission

In Egypt, star forward Salah is revered. His compatriots consider him the best African player ever — even better than Samuel Eto’o, Didier Drogba, George Weah and Yaya Touré. An Afcon title for Salah would strengthen this argument.

The closest the Pharaohs have come to winning Afcon since their success in 2006 was reaching the final in 2017 and 2021.

In 2025, the hope is for a different storyline, especially with Egypt’s coach being Hossam Hassan, a great who won the Afcon three times as a player with the Pharaohs.

“Since we arrived, I’ve always said that every match is like a final for us. That’s how we approach every game. But every match is different, and we adapt to each opponent,” said Hassan. “I’m very happy about our qualification [for the semifinals]. The players gave everything, and I’m proud of them.

“It’s true we also made mistakes in the match that cost us two goals, but we scored three. However, we will correct these shortcomings for the next matches.”

Should the Egyptians circumvent the monumental challenge posed by the Lions of Teranga, another tough task awaits in the final, which will be played on Sunday, 18 January. An on-form Nigeria or host nation Morocco will try to once again deny Salah African glory. DM