Morocco and Senegal Advance to AFCON Semifinals

Hosts Morocco and 2021 champions Senegal have secured their spots in the semifinals of the Africa Cup of Nations after triumphing over Cameroon and Mali, respectively. Both teams are now awaiting the outcomes of tomorrow’s matches to learn who their opponents will be in the penultimate round.

Senegal Edges Past Mali

Nicolas Jackson remained an unexpected absentee as Senegal narrowly defeated Mali, remaining on the bench throughout the match. Amadou Haidara, the former RB Leipzig midfielder, returned to Mali’s lineup after serving a one-game suspension. However, Tom Saintfiet’s squad found themselves down to ten men for the third consecutive match, with Yves Bissouma receiving a second yellow card right before halftime.

The only goal of the match was scored by Everton’s winger Iliman Ndiaye, marking his first goal of the tournament before the red card incident. Senegal’s Lions of Teranga will now await to see whether they face Egypt or the reigning champions Côte d’Ivoire in the semifinals.

Morocco’s Solid Performance

On the other side of the bracket, the victors of the match between Algeria and Nigeria will take on Morocco. Historically, Cameroon has been known for pulling off surprises against host nations in AFCON tournaments, but this time, Walid Regragui’s squad kept players like Christian Kofane and others from making an impact, limiting them to attempts that missed the target.

Brahim Diaz continued his scoring streak, netting a goal for the fifth consecutive match, while Ismael Saibari found the back of the net in the second half, ensuring Morocco’s victory and maintaining their remarkable record of not conceding a goal from open play. Stuttgart’s Bilal El Khannouss played for 68 minutes, while Kofane’s Leverkusen teammate Eliesse Ben Saghir remained on the bench once more.