RABAT, Morocco
A repeat of the 2021 TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations final beckons as 2021 champions Senegal take on seven-time winners Egypt, who are looking for a 10th final appearance.
The last-four clash will be played at the Grande Stade de Tangier on 14 January at 18h00 local time (17h00 GMT).
Senegal have played all of their games in Tangier, while Egypt played their first five matches in Agadir.
This is the sixth AFCON meeting between the sides.
Of their previous five AFCON meetings, each team has won two games. Three of their clashes came at the group stages in 1986, 2000 and 2002, while their meeting at the 2006 tournament was in the semi-finals.
This is their second meeting in an AFCON semi-final.
The winner of a knockout clash between Senegal and Egypt has always been crowned African champions, a scenario that has occurred twice, in 2006 and 2021.
Their last AFCON meeting came in the 2021 final, the only match between the nations to end in a draw, with Senegal winning their first title after prevailing on penalties following a 0–0 draw.
The teams first met at the AFCON in 1986, when Egypt, as hosts, were defeated 1–0 by Senegal in Cairo in their opening group match. The Pharaohs recovered to go on and win the title.
At the 2000 AFCON, Egypt defeated Senegal 1–0 in a group match, while two years later, in 2002, Senegal exacted revenge with a 1–0 victory.
Current Egypt coach Hossam Hassan scored the Pharaohs’ only goal in their 1–0 win over Senegal at the 2000 AFCON, finding the net in the 36th minute. Both teams progressed to the quarter-finals from the group and were eliminated at that stage.
During their opening match at the 2002 AFCON, Lamine Diatta’s goal gave Senegal a 1–0 win. Both teams again progressed to the knockout stages, with Senegal finishing the tournament as runners-up.
Egypt edged the semi-final on home soil in 2006 with a 2–1 victory on their way to a fifth AFCON title. Ahmed Hassan converted a 37th-minute penalty, Mamadou Niang equalised in the 52nd minute, before Amr Zaki scored Egypt’s second in the 81st minute. Hassan also appeared as a late substitute in the match.
Across their four AFCON matches that produced a winner in open play, both teams have scored only once, in the 2006 semi-final. Indeed, across their 15 previous meetings in all competitions, only that match has seen both teams score.
The sides also met in qualifying for the 2015 AFCON, where Senegal progressed at Egypt’s expense. Senegal won the first group meeting in Dakar on 5 September 2014 by 2–0, with goals from Mame Biram Diouf in the 17th minute and Sadio Mané in the 45th.
In the return match on 15 November 2015, Diouf again scored, netting the only goal of a 1–0 win for Senegal in the eighth minute in Cairo.
The most recent encounters between the teams came in the play-offs for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Egypt won the first leg 1–0 in Cairo on 25 March 2022 through a fourth-minute own goal by Saliou Cissé.
Senegal won the second leg 1–0 in Dakar on 29 March 2022, with Boulaye Dia scoring the only goal in the fourth minute. Senegal progressed to Qatar after winning the penalty shoot-out 3–1 following a 1–1 aggregate draw.
Senegal have won both penalty shoot-outs contested between the teams, at the 2021 AFCON and in the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.
Mohamed Salah has faced Senegal five times and is yet to score against them, recording one win, one draw and three defeats.
Sadio Mané has faced Egypt five times, scoring one goal and recording three wins, one draw and one defeat.
Salah and Mané were teammates at English Premier League club Liverpool between 2017 and 2022, featuring together 223 times. Mané assisted Salah on 18 occasions, while Salah provided 17 assists for Mané.
Together at Liverpool, the pair won six major honours, including the Premier League in 2019–20 and the UEFA Champions League in 2018–19.
Salah and Mané shared the English Premier League Golden Boot award in the 2018–19 season alongside Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, with all three scoring 22 goals.
As Liverpool teammates, Salah was African Footballer of the Year in 2017 and 2018, while Mané won the award in 2019 and 2022.
Mané has created the joint-most chances at the current AFCON with 14, alongside Ademola Lookman, while Salah follows with 12.
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