Jubilant crowds filled the streets across Morocco and Senegal as both nations celebrated advancing to the AFCON football final, with Morocco defeating Nigeria and Senegal triumphing over Egypt.
In the first semifinal, Youssef El-Nesyri scored the winning penalty while goalkeeper Yassine “Bono” Bounou made two vital saves, securing Morocco’s 4-2 penalty shootout victory over Nigeria.
Despite Nigerian goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali managing one save, Bono proved more influential by stopping Samuel Chukwueze twice after regulation and extra time ended in a 0-0 stalemate before a crowd of 65,458 at Rabat’s Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium on Wednesday.
In the other semifinal, Sadio Mane once again got the better of his former Liverpool teammate Mohamed Salah, guiding Senegal to a 1-0 victory over Egypt. Salah’s African championship dreams remain unfulfilled—Egypt previously lost the 2021 final on penalties to Senegal when Mane helped deliver his country’s first title.
Mane broke the deadlock in the 78th minute, unleashing a powerful strike from outside the penalty area into the bottom left corner after Lamine Camara’s shot was blocked.
The hosts and the 2021 champions will meet in the final in Rabat on Sunday.