UPDATE: Egypt beat Cameroon on penalties to reach AFCON final

The Pharaohs of Egypt defeated Indomitable Lions of Cameroon 3-1 on penalties to reach the final of the 2021 TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) final when they locked horns in Yaoundé.

After 120 minutes of play it was a goalless draw until it was decided by penalties.

There are no teams that won TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations titles more than Cameroon and Egypt.

Between them they lifted the Holy Grail of African Football twelve times, seven for the Pharaohs and five for the Indomitable Lions.

Goalkeeper Mohamed Abou Gabal was the hero for the Egyptians, saving from both Harold Moukoudi and James Lea-Siliki in the shoot-out at the Olembe Stadium before Clinton Njie blazed wide with Cameroon’s last chance to keep their dream alive.

Salah, usually the fifth penalty-taker for his country, was not needed as Egypt advance to a final showdown against Senegal at the Olembe Stadium on Sunday.

That will see Salah come up against his Liverpool teammate Sadio Mane, with the Pharaohs chasing a record-extending eighth African crown while Senegal continue their search for their first title.

Cameroon, meanwhile, see their hopes of AFCON glory on home soil ended in cruel fashion, and they must still get through a third-place play-off against Burkina Faso this weekend.

Cameroon captain Vincent Abubakar pass up a glorious chance to open the scoring early in the second half when a dreadfully short back-pass by Martin Hongla sent him clear.

After trying to knock the ball round Andre Onana, the Cameroon goalkeeper successfully stopped him just outside the box.

Aboubakar also struggled to make an impact, although the hosts had dominated the first half and almost went ahead in the 18th minute when Michael Ngadeu rose to head a corner off the woodwork.

Samuel Oum Gouet also saw a long-range piledriver clip the left upright in the second half.

Meanwhile the Egyptians went down at every opportunity, regularly looking to eat up time and frustrate their opponents.

Usually they eventually stood up again unscathed, although centre-back Mahmoud Hamdy El Wensh needed a bandage on a first-half head wound.

At least they ended the game with 11 players, but coach Carlos Queiroz — whose assistant was serving a ban here — was shown a red card as the end of normal time loomed after losing his temper on the touchline.

This was Egypt’s third extra time in as many knockout ties, after they needed penalties to beat the Ivory Coast in the last 16 and an extra half-hour to get the better of Morocco in the quarter-finals.

Extra time passed with penalties always seeming inevitable, and Aboubakar was the only successful taker for Cameroon as they go out.

On Sunday, the winners Egypt will meet Senegal in the Africa Cup of Nations final, while the losers Cameroon will play Burkina Faso in the third place match on Saturday.

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