Cameroon Vs Egypt 1-2: Salah Et Al Follow Senegal To The 2021 Africa Cup Of Nations

Egypt qualify for 2021 Africa Cup of Nations final (Twitter @caf_online)

JAKARTA - Egypt qualified for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations final after beating hosts Cameroon 3-1 on penalties after 120 minutes the score remained 0-0 in the semifinal match of the tournament at the Olembe Stadium, Yaounde, Cameroon, early Friday.

Quoted from Antara, goalkeeper Mohamed Abou Gabal became the hero of Egypt's victory by blocking Harold Moukoudi and James Lea-Siliki penalty kicks before Clinton Njie's shot went wide of goal which practically crushed Cameroon's dream of reaching the top party.

Salah, who usually takes the fifth penalty for his squad, did not need to take a penalty this time as Egypt only sent three of them to advance to the final against Senegal at the Olembe Stadium on Sunday.

This result makes Salah will face his teammate at Liverpool, Sadio Mane. Egypt is chasing their eighth African crown, while Senegal is seeking their first African title.

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Cameroon will still be in contention for third place against Burkina Faso the day before the final.

This match takes place 10 days after the disaster at this stadium when eight people were killed and 38 injured before Cameroon's last 16 win against the Comoros Islands.

The Confederation of African Football has temporarily closed the venue pending an investigation into the incident by removing the venue from the quarter-finals before giving the green light to reopen it for the match for third place and the final.

Olembe is a spectacular stadium both from the outside and from the inside, but it still has an uncomfortable feeling to operate normally.

Egypt was seeking revenge for their 2-1 loss in the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations final to Cameroon when Vincent Aboubakar came on as a substitute to score the winner in Libreville five years ago.

Aboubakar is now the captain of the Cameroonian national team and the top scorer in the tournament with six goals.

Aboubakar appeared confident in this match, while Salah often struggled alone in the Egyptian attack due to a lack of ball supply to him.

But Salah also squandered a golden opportunity to break the deadlock early in the second half when Martin Hongla's back-pass found the Egyptian striker.

After trying to avoid Andre Onana's block, the Cameroon goalkeeper could even cut the ball just outside the penalty box.

Aboubakar himself struggled to make an impact for his side even though the hosts dominated the first half and almost took the lead in the 18th minute when Michael Ngadeu headed home but hit the crossbar.

Samuel Oum Gouet also came close to scoring when his long-range shot narrowly missed the net in the second half.

While Egypt often squandered chances and looked like they were playing time and frustrated their opponents thanks to their formidable midfield, they were ready to fight until center-back Mahmoud Hamdy El Wensh had to be bandaged up with a head injury in the first half.

Egypt was also forced to see their coach, Carlos Queiroz, shown a red card as the end of normal time drew near after losing patience on the touchline.

It was the third extra-time Egypt went through during the knockout stages after they also needed a penalty shoot-out to beat Ivory Coast in the last 16 and an extra half an hour to beat Morocco in the quarter-finals.

But extra time passed without a goal so it had to be continued with a penalty shootout. Three of Egypt's penalty takers successfully carried out their duties, while Aboubakar was the only one of four Cameroonians to score against Egypt.

Mohamed Salah also led Egypt to the final to meet his Liverpool team-mate, Sadio Mane, in the final on Monday morning next week.